By: Benyamin Davidsons

An aide to Mayor Eric Adams, who served as his longtime liaison to the Turkish community, has turned against him and is cooperating with the corruption investigation into Mr. Adams’ dealings with the Turkish government. As reported by the NY Times, the aide, Rana Abbasova, may provide new insight into the corruption inquiry, which has questioned whether Mr. Adams’s campaign conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign donations into his campaign coffers, and whether Mr. Adams pressured Fire Department officials to expedite approval of the high-rise Turkish consulate.

Ms. Abbasova, 41, who serves as the director of protocol for the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, has been cooperating with the federal authorities in the probe. Emails show that she has been involved in some of Mr. Adams’s dealings with Turkish government officials and businessmen. Per the Times, she also helped coordinate meetings and events with members of the Turkish community in NY and abroad, arranged some of his travel plans, and accompanied him on two official trips to Turkey, per records.

Ms. Abbasova, originally from Azerbaijan, started working for Mr. Adams before he was mayor, having worked for about four years in the Brooklyn borough president’s office. On Nov. 2nd, the FBI had searched her home in connection with the corruption investigation, as well as the homes of Brianna Suggs, the mayor’s chief fund-raiser, and a former Turkish Airlines executive Cenk Öcal. Since that day, Ms. Abbasova started talks with the team of F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors. While she has been providing information about the matter, it remains unclear whether she has signed a formal cooperation deal with federal prosecutors in exchange for leniency or whether she herself would potentially plead guilty to any crimes in relation to the alleged foreign donation scheme.

As of now, Mayor Adams has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing, and neither has Ms. Abbasova. Her lawyer, Rachel Maimin, declined to comment on Monday, as did spokesmen for the U.S. attorney’s office and the F.B.I. Mayor Adams has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said that he always instructs his staff to follow the law.

One of Mayor Adams’ lawyers, Brendan R. McGuire, said in a statement that Ms. Abbasova’s cooperation was “not a new or meaningful development.” He told the NY Times that officials in the Adams administration had earlier shared information with federal prosecutors about what they described as improper actions taken by Ms. Abbasova after the search of her home. “It is our understanding that Ms. Abbasova has been talking to investigators since her improper conduct was reported by the administration in November,” the statement said.

No elaboration was made to clarify those actions, but sources for the Times say she her actions involved talking to another aide about communications. Ms. Abbasova was suspended from her position as the director of protocol in the days following the search of her New Jersey home. The mayor’s team had said that it acted proactively in putting her on leave after discovering the improper actions cited by Mr. McGuire.

After Mr. Adam’s became mayor in 2022, Ms. Abbasova’s role was “director of protocol for international affairs,” a position in which she “advises and assists the mayor” and others “on diplomatic protocol and etiquette matters,” according to her CityHall biography.