Araz News:A local planning authority, ruling that the modifications of two historic waterfront mansions owned by an infamous graft figure were unlawful, has decided to restore the historic buildings to their original state, a daily reported on Friday.

The Bosporus Planning Authority, after investigating the modifications and addition of an extra floor to two adjoining waterfront mansions owned by Reza Zarrab, a businessman implicated in the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption investigation, ruled that the buildings be restored to their original state before Zarrab purchased them in 2011.

Zarrab had acquired the two luxurious waterfront mansions on the Bosporus in Istanbul‘s Kanlıca neighborhood for $40 million in 2011. In addition to adding an extra floor to one of the mansions, Zarrab also constructed a passageway between the two buildings, added a common elevator and installed an automated dock.

With the planning authority’s decision, the additions to the buildings including the extra floor, elevator and automated dock will be removed.

The planning authority also filed a criminal complaint with the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, demanding a prison sentence of between two and five years for Zarrab for violating Article 65 of Law No. 2863.

The aforementioned law stipulates that those who destroy, damage or distort protected cultural or natural entities will receive a sentence of imprisonment of between two and five years as well as a fine.

Zarrab, who was accused of being the ringleader of a shady money laundering and gold smuggling ring in Turkey established to dodge sanctions against Iran, was among 21 people — including the sons of three former ministers, a district mayor and other high profile figures — who were arrested as part of the corruption and bribery operation that went public on Dec. 17 after a series of simultaneous police raids.

The charges against Zarrab and other suspects in the investigation including four former ministers were dropped in October 2014 following the appointment of new prosecutors to the investigation. Thousands of police officers and jurists were reassigned or dismissed following the revelation of the corruption scandal, a move seen by many as a cover-up of the investigation by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

Reprinted from todayszaman