April 2024 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Feds Say Bombing Survivors' Suit Is Outside Court's Authority
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

Feds Say Bombing Survivors' Suit Is Outside Court's Authority <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1822373?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> By Alyssa Aquino The Biden administration is again pushing to escape survivors' efforts to hold it accountable for U.S. allies' airstrikes in Yemen, telling a Washington, D.C., federal court it had no authority over the executive branch's foreign arms dealing. 1 document attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1822373?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1822373?nl_pk=4126fe73-…>

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Meta Looks To Nix FTC's Antitrust Case Over Acquisitions
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

Meta Looks To Nix FTC's Antitrust Case Over Acquisitions <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1822518?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> By Matthew Perlman Meta Platforms urged a D.C. federal court on Friday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against it, saying the agency has found no evidence showing its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp hurt competition or consumers. Brief attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1822518?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1822518?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…>

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For the First Time in History, the Fed Is Reporting Billions in Losses Weekly; It's Still Paying High Interest Income to the Mega Banks on Wall Street
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/04/for-the-first-time-in-history-the-fe… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 8, 2024 ~ Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve As of April 3 of this year, the Federal Reserve (Fed) has racked up $161 billion in accumulated losses. We’re not talking about unrealized losses on the underwater debt securities the Fed holds on its balance sheet, which it does not mark to market. We’re talking about real cash losses it is experiencing from earning approximately 2 percent interest on the $6.97 trillion of debt securities it holds on its balance sheet from its Quantitative Easing (QE) operations while it continues to pay out 5.4 percent interest to the mega banks on Wall Street (and other Fed member banks) for the reserves they hold with the Fed; 5.3 percent interest on their reverse repo operations with the Fed; and a whopping 6 percent dividend to member banks with assets of $10 billion or less and the lesser of 6 percent or the yield on the 10-year Treasury note at the most recent auction prior to the dividend payment to banks with assets larger than $10 billion. (This morning the 10-year Treasury is yielding 4.41 percent.) Operating losses of this magnitude are unprecedented at the of Fed, which was created in 1913. In a press release dated March 26, the Fed stated this: “The Reserve Banks’ 2023 sum total of expenses exceeded earnings by $114.3 billion.” As of March 13 of this year, the Fed’s accumulated losses stood at $156.24 billion and yet on March 20 the Federal Reserve voted to sustain those high 5+ percent interest rates to its member banks – making it look like the captured regulator it is considered to be by millions of Americans. As the chart above indicates, the Fed’s ongoing weekly losses have ranged from a high of $3.3 billion for the week ending Wednesday, January 31, 2024, to $1.86 billion for the most recent week ending Wednesday, April 3, 2024. American taxpayers have good reason to sit up and pay attention to the Fed’s giant and ongoing losses. That’s because when the Fed is operating in the green, as it was on an annual basis for 106 years from 1916 through 2022, the Fed, by law, turns over excess earnings to the U.S. Treasury – thus reducing the amount the U.S. government has to borrow by issuing Treasury debt securities. According to Fed data, between 2011 and 2021, the Fed’s excess earnings paid to the U.S. Treasury totaled more than $920 billion. The loss of remittances from the Fed means the U.S. government will go deeper into debt, putting a heavier tax burden on the U.S. taxpayer and raising the risk of another credit rating agency downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt. The way the Fed is accounting for these losses is straight out of Alice in Wonderland. A January 31 paper by Paul H. Kupiec and Alex J. Pollock published by the American Enterprise Institute explains why the Fed has negative capital under GAAP accounting. The researchers write: “In 2011, the Fed unilaterally decided to adopt non-standard accounting practices that book operating losses as a ‘negative liability’ in its H.4.1 releases and as a ‘deferred asset’ in its audited financial statements. [The Fed wrote at the time:] ‘[I]n the unlikely scenario in which realized losses were sufficiently large enough to result in an overall net income loss for the Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve would still meet its financial obligations to cover operating expenses. In that case, remittances to the Treasury would be suspended and a deferred asset would be recorded on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet.’ “Unfortunately for the Fed, the ‘unlikely scenario’ has become reality. Regardless of the name used, the ‘deferred asset’ account acts to hide the basic immutable fact that operating losses have consumed the Fed’s capital. “Under the Fed’s unique accounting policy, operating losses do not reduce the Federal Reserve’s reported total capital. The accumulated losses in the ‘deferred asset’ account allow the Fed to report the same capital account balance, no matter how large its accumulated losses. Even if it lost 100 times its capital, or $4.3 trillion, the Fed would still report that it has positive $43 billion in capital. Similar creative ‘regulatory accounting’ has not been utilized by financial institutions since the 1980s when it was used to prop up failing savings and loans.” The researchers posted a line-item chart on page 8 of their report showing how the Fed’s accounting compares with GAAP accounting. As of December 27, 2023, the Fed’s accounting produces $42.85 billion in capital. Under GAAP accounting, the Fed’s capital stands at a negative $88.7 billion. As anyone who is a regular reader of Wall Street On Parade will easily guess, the New York Fed has the most dramatic negative capital under GAAP accounting among the Fed’s 12 regional Fed banks. The researchers write: “Restating each of the 12 individual FRBs [Federal Reserve Banks] December 27, 2023 capital accounts using GAAP, 8 have negative GAAP capital. Exhibit 2A shows the FRBs that have GAAP capital deficits larger than $1 billion. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with a GAAP capital nearly negative $70 billion, has the largest capital deficit followed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond with negative GAAP capital approaching $12 billion and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago with $7.6 billion in negative GAAP capital.” For a deeper understanding of the New York Fed, read our reports: Is the New York Fed Too Deeply Conflicted to Regulate Wall Street? and The New York Fed Has Quietly Staffed Up a Second Trading Floor Near the S&P 500 Futures Market in Chicago. If you agree with Wall Street On Parade that the current banking and Fed structure in the U.S. represents a threat to national security and economic stability, please contact your U.S. Senators today via the U.S. Capitol switchboard by dialing (202) 224-3121. Tell your Senators to hold immediate hearings on the financial stability implications of the Fed’s losses and its deep conflicts with Wall Street’s mega banks.

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IP Firm Sues Florida Attorney For Using Soundalike Name
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

IP Firm Sues Florida Attorney For Using Soundalike Name <https://www.law360.com/competition/articles/1821372?nl_pk=6416fd97-1dc4-4e0…> By Adrian Cruz Georgia-based intellectual property firm Bekiares Eliezer LLP has sued an attorney in Florida federal court, alleging he marketed his services with a name similar to its "Founders Legal" brand. Complaint attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/competition/articles/1821372?nl_pk=6416fd97-1dc4-4e0…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/competition/articles/1821372?nl_pk=6416fd97-1dc4-4e0…>

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Entrepreneurs to the Rescue
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

Entrepreneurs to the Rescue There has been a rise in mistrust of our institutions and in the US since the early 2000s. We do not think that it is a coincidence that this wave of mistrust began at the same time the US declared War on Iraq in 2003. Our response to 9/11, backed by false intelligence, marked a significant undermining of US credibility on the world stage, from which we have not fully recovered. The entrepreneurial disposition here in Silicon Valley is one of earnestness and optimism. We are committed to solving these problems of institutional mistrust, working on securing people's privacy, and taking back to individual power through an onslaught of Web3 innovation. We also aspire to make individuals more valuable and efficient with AI so they can get more done in less time. The dream of a four-day workweek or less is very real. <https://substack.com/redirect/dd225f0d-39f4-4e30-8f1b-3f3fea551d7d?j=eyJ1Ij…> The principle of subsidiarity's roots go back to Thomistic social theory <https://substack.com/redirect/0557292c-6d4f-4c20-b980-d77511b4e52c?j=eyJ1Ij…>. Carlo Crivelli painted this portrait of Saint Thomas Aquinas. >From our post, we see the two biggest components to saving the American ideal, re-establishing our global brand, and uniting our country are joining together and recommitting to two primary principles. The first is the organizing principle of subsidiarity, <https://substack.com/redirect/53336926-c994-4da4-9173-c9f4950faad5?j=eyJ1Ij…> which affirms that the autonomy and human dignity of the individual are paramount. In other words, the idea is that all social bodies exist for the sake of the individual, not for the benefit of the institutions or the people running them. The decentralizing power of blockchain and crypto can make this happen. The second is a return to the principle of non-violent protest. We have still not reconciled and atoned for the millions of innocent people who were killed, maimed, or displaced during the Middle East wars we started. We also have not reconciled the 47 innocent deaths and $5 billion in inter-city property and business destruction that occurred in the Summer of 2020. There is a better way to affect social change, and we have the independence of India under Mahatma Gandhi <https://substack.com/redirect/8c213d5b-bb62-4a1c-be42-cebf07801477?j=eyJ1Ij…>, the US Civil Rights movement under the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., the takedown of the Soviet Union, and Apartheid in South Africa as successful use cases. Let's stop the dying! Anthony Perkins, founder & editor, Cryptonite

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Video: Steve Jobs imagining our AI future in 1985
by Gunnar Larson 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

*Steve Jobs imagining our AI future in 1985 Video: * https://youtu.be/en1FZe-Zkzs?si=GCqIFNnWKIrWJvuk "And so my hope is that someday, when the next Aristotle is alive, we can capture his underlying worldview in a computer, and someday, some students will be able to not only read the words Aristotle wrote but ask Aristotle a question and get an answer. And that's what I hope that we can do. So this is the beginning." —Apple cofouder, Steve Jobs, forecasting GenAI back in 1985.

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Death of a cypherpunk
by pro2rat＠yahoo.com.au 08 Apr '24

08 Apr '24

OG Toadie, John Gilmore, failing the anarchist test and contributing to a death-of-cypherpunks thread in the late 90s. Barlow instant fail- DOA Republican Kapor fail by 2000 - death by Lotus Position Hughes fail by 2002 - the coward dies a thousand deaths Gilmore? Activist sure. Anarchist? Never to my knowledge. https://hackernoon.com/cypherpunks-write-code-john-gilmore-and-the-electron…

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SpaceX Corporation Board of Directors One Rocket Road Hawthorne, California 90250 Sales@SpaceX.com Re: Potential SpaceX Interlocking Directors’ Intent to Manipulate Markets
by Gunnar Larson 07 Apr '24

07 Apr '24

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lv9Wt6y1ld4bNap0z3epIxttEGiP_oVpfxH0GTS… May 21, 2022 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL SpaceX Corporation Board of Directors One Rocket Road Hawthorne, California 90250 Sales(a)SpaceX.com Re: Potential SpaceX Interlocking Directors’ Intent to Manipulate Markets Dear SpaceX Board of Directors: >From our New York headquarters, xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC embodies the notion that rather than a merry-go-round, the process of change and innovation is like a slide. Today’s memo aims to notify the SpaceX Corporation of concern of potential market manipulation that could impact cross-border digital asset innovation, free speech in the United States of America, the global ESG economy and Moon exploration. We do not see this as a stereotypical democrat versus republican battle (as Mr. Musk alludes). We see this as a risk arbitrage matter for xNY.io - Bank.org’s profit (subject to regulatory approval). Some may argue a scheme to leverage the protection of “free speech” has led to Twitter deal advisors attempting a $44B LBO market manipulation exercise. Further cause for reasonable concern is warranted if similar intent is at play in the form of Tesla’s ESG scam claim. xNY.io - Bank.org indicators signal risk of possible intent to manipulate public and private markets prompting clarification of the SpaceX Corporation’s intent concerning Moon exploration and exploitation as a ESG digital asset vault. To be very clear, SpaceX directors should understand xNY.io - Bank.org’s work to protect cross-border digital asset innovation was born before Twitter's prospective LBO. Our concern specific to the intent of Twitter’s LBO deal makers is party to our work in New York to usurp Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase board directors who may be potentially engaged in similar market manipulation referenced here: 1. xNY.io - Bank.org | DOJ Memo #4 - Goldman Sachs Deferred Prosecution Agreement. 2. xNY.io - Bank.org | Memo #2 - JPMorgan Chase Board of Directors ESG Marketplace Manipulation. 3. xNY.io - Bank.org’s work also includes research into oil and nickel marketplace manipulation as an ESG concern. The Twitter LBO includes Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase operating as deal advisors. As referenced above, claims of Twitter robot scams and claims of Tesla ESG scams display a pattern of questionable intent. xNY.io - Bank.org asks SpaceX to clarify your board's intent concerning the Moon and any connection to USDD (now in Moon phase). SpaceX directors may agree that the Moon can also be defined as one of the most valuable ESG digital asset vaults known to modern humanity. Protecting the Moon from explo8itation is fundamental to Space exploration. SpaceX is party to any potential Twitter deal maker advisors that may exercise questionable intent risking the Moon’s ESG vault potential. xNY.io - Bank.org is concerned with interlocking directorate syndicates that include SpaceX, Tesla, PayPal, Goldman Sachs and BitGo. This setup breeds a galaxy of third and fourth party risk(s) at the demise of pure cross-border digital asset innovation. Twitter robots are not the focus of the Orlando Police Department Pension Fund, who suggests that Twitter’s LBO is suspected of questionable intent as potentially illegal. - Mr. Musk’s ingenuity as an entrepreneur is historic and greatly respected as a model inside our organization. As a Gates Scholar and Blockchain Scholar holding international law distinction(s) The concept of the Moon being an ESG digital asset vault is logic USDD seemingly embodies. - For obvious reasons, we seek SpaceX’s board to confirm if the intent behind your CEO’s Twitter LBO and Tesla ESG claims and if SpaceX is party to a USDD type matter given your syndicate’s close association with USDP. xNY.io - Bank.org kindly asks the SpaceX Corporation board of directors to respond within 15 days of receipt of this correspondence. Default in the form of no response within 15 days is not an extortion technique on our part. Rather, it is a design benefit in disclosing our intent post 15 days to ask for approval to engage New York’s False Claims Act in response to SpaceX, Tesla, PayPal and Meta interlocking directors potentially engaging in digital asset marketplace manipulation (exemplified by USDP and USDD) that may exploit Space and Moon exploration at xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC’s overall expense. Respectfully yours, Gunnar Larson | xNY.io <http://www.xny.io> - Bank.org <http://bank.org>, PBC MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 CC: Tesla Board of Directors Twitter Board of Directors Goldman Sachs Board of Directors JP Morgan Chase Board of Directors

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Fwd: Your Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") Request FOIL-2023-095358-021587 - Robinhood BitLicense Records Appeal - NY-DFS
by Gunnar Larson 07 Apr '24

07 Apr '24

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> Date: Wed, Feb 21, 2024, 2:21 PM Subject: Fwd: Your Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") Request FOIL-2023-095358-021587 - Robinhood BitLicense Records Appeal - NY-DFS To: Mazza, Stephanie (DFS) <Stephanie.Mazza(a)dfs.ny.gov> Cc: Reader, Shaun <sreader(a)curtis.com>, <letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov>, Harris, Adrienne A (DFS) <Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov>, < Recordsaccessofficer(a)dfs.ny.gov>, <cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org> In accordance with Public Officers Law § 89(4), xNY.io - Bank.org elects to appeal this determination to withhold the Robinhood BitLicense Records. Turn this matter as we will, any side whatsoever appears to require obstruction of justice. We further demand NY-DFS send xNY.io - Bank.org an update on the aforementioned appeal within five (5) business days. Reserving all rights, xNY.io - Bank.org is seeking relevant relief in California on Robinhood. Warm regards, Gunnar ---- SENT VIA EMAIL Email: G(a)xny.io February 21, 2024 Mr. Gunnar Larson xNY.io – Bank.org 406 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 Re: Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) Tracking No. 2023-095358 Dear Mr. Larson, I write in response to the FOIL request that you submitted to the New York State Department of Financial Services (“Department”), which has been assigned the above-referenced tracking number and reads as follows: Dear Madam or Sir: On August 2, 2022 the Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris announced that Robinhood Crypto, LLC (“RHC”) would pay a $30 million penalty to New York State for significant failures in the areas of bank secrecy act/anti-money laundering (“BSA/AML”) obligations and cybersecurity that resulted in violations of the Department’s Virtual Currency Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 200), Money Transmitter Regulation (3 NYCRR Part 417), Transaction Monitoring Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 504), and Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500). xNY.io - Bank.org would like to 1. receive any and all records related to NY-DFS' investigation of Robinhood Crypto. Including (but not limited to) records concerning the bespoke Supervisory Agreement Robinhood Crypto has with the Department of Financial Services mentioned here: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr202208021. 2. In addition, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks any and all records concerning New York's approach to Robinhood Crypto and Goldman Sachs compliance programs mandated by the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section mentioned here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yx88RMoeLyyfbNK0RtPl4r- m8N21_1Sp/view?usp=drivesdk. 3. Finally, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks records concerning New York's regulatory approval of Robinhood Crypto engaging a fine of $30M to implement heightened controls and additional procedures and policies relating to electronic surveillance and investigation, due diligence on transactions or clients and the use of third-party intermediaries across business units; and enhancing anti-corruption training for all management and relevant employees. To the extent the request is reasonably described, the Department construes the request as seeking the records, correspondence, and work product exchanged between Robinhood and the Department in accordance with the Department’s August 1, 2022 Consent Order (“responsive records”). The records that you seek relate to an ongoing Department investigation. Accordingly, your request is denied pursuant to Public Officers Law § 87(2)(e)(i) (the “law enforcement exemption”), which excepts from disclosure records that are compiled for law enforcement purposes and that, if disclosed, would interfere with law enforcement investigations. The purpose behind the law enforcement exemption is to protect an agency’s investigative process from being compromised by revealing the scope and nature of an agency's investigation before an investigation is complete. See Matter of Pittari v. Pirro, 258 A.D.2d 202 (2d Dep’t 1999). It also bears noting that the law enforcement exemption applies to both civil and criminal investigatory files. See Madeiros v. Dep’t of Educ., 30 N.Y.3d 67 (2017). In this instance, releasing the requested records would interfere with the Department’s investigative process. Thus, the Department is not disclosing the records that you request pursuant to Public Officers Law § 87(2)(e)(i). Moreover, in addition to withholding the responsive records pursuant to Public Officers Law § 87(2)(e)(i), the Department also is withholding the responsive records pursuant to Public Officers Law § 87(2)(a), which specifically exempts from disclosure records exempted by a state or federal statute. The applicable statutory provision is N.Y. Banking Law (“Banking Law”) § 36(10), which states, in pertinent part, that reports of examinations and investigations and correspondence and memoranda concerning or arising out of such examinations and investigations are confidential and shall not be made public. The statute fosters open communication between the Department and its regulated institutions, a necessity for effective regulation of financial institutions, by ensuring that records transmitted to the Department in connection with its supervision of a financial institution are protected from disclosure. The responsive records that were transmitted between Robinhood and the Department in connection with the Department’s supervision of Robinhood as a licensed money transmitter pursuant to New York Banking Law, constitute correspondence and reports concerning and arising out of an investigation and are, therefore, required to be kept confidential and exempt from disclosure under Banking Law § 36(10). The expectation that records transmitted to the Department will remain confidential is essential to encouraging candor and open communications between the Department, its regulated entities, and the entities undergoing regulatory review that submit such records. Release of such sensitive records, albeit responsive records, may have a chilling effect on the willingness of regulated entities to share information and cooperate with supervisors to resolve issues, and thus confidentiality is critical to the Department’s ability to perform its regulatory mandate and purpose. Accordingly, the exemption set forth in Public Officers Law § 87(2)(a) via Banking Law § 36(10) covers the responsive records. In accordance with Public Officers Law § 89(4), you may appeal this determination to withhold the records within 30 days by sending an email to FOIL.Appeals(a)dfs.ny.gov. Very truly yours, Stephanie Mazza Associate Attorney ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: <Stephanie.Mazza(a)dfs.ny.gov> Date: Wed, Feb 21, 2024, 1:26 PM Subject: Your Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") Request FOIL-2023-095358-021587 To: <G(a)xny.io> Dear Mr. Larson: Attached please find the Department's determination regarding the aforementioned FOIL request. Because your request has been answered, your request is now closed. Tracking Number:FOIL-2023-095358-021587

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F.B.I. Examining Free Airfare Upgrades Received by Adams - The New York Times
by Gunnar Larson 07 Apr '24

07 Apr '24

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/nyregion/eric-adams-turkish-airlines-upg… F.B.I. Examining Free Airfare Upgrades Received by Adams Federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents are scrutinizing international flights taken by Mayor Eric Adams of New York aboard Turkey’s national air carrier, Turkish Airlines. Share full article 54 Mayor Eric Adams photographed at a news conference while wearing a dark suit and tie. The campaign fund-raising of Mayor Eric Adams of New York has been the subject of a broad federal corruption investigation.Credit...David Dee Delgado for The New York Times William K. RashbaumMichael RothfeldDana Rubinstein By William K. Rashbaum, Michael Rothfeld and Dana Rubinstein April 5, 2024 Federal authorities investigating Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign fund-raising have been examining valuable flight upgrades they believe he received from Turkish Airlines that elevated him to its highest class of seats available on international trips, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The scrutiny is part of a broad corruption inquiry that has already led the F.B.I. to search the homes of the former top New York-based executive of Turkish Airlines and aides to Mr. Adams, who has frequently traveled abroad and has made no secret of his affinity for flying on the Turkish carrier. The investigation burst into public view in November after F.B.I. agents searched the homes of the former airline executive, Cenk Öcal, the mayor’s liaison to the Turkish community, Rana Abbasova, and his chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs — and seized Mr. Adams’s electronic devices. The inquiry has shaken an administration that has become increasingly mired in investigations and beset by legal and ethical problems. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The broader investigation has focused at least in part on whether the Turkish government conspired with Mr. Adams’s mayoral campaign to funnel foreign money into its coffers, and whether Mr. Adams pressured the New York City Fire Department to sign off on Turkey’s new high-rise consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns. Mr. Adams’s relationship with Turkish Airlines has extended beyond that of simply being a passenger. He has attended meetings and events with representatives of the air carrier, which is half-owned by the Turkish government’s sovereign wealth fund. Some of those interactions took place in the presence of Turkish business leaders and diplomats with their own close ties to Turkey’s government and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and F.B.I. agents conducting the inquiry have developed evidence that Mr. Öcal helped arrange at least some of the upgrades in coordination with Ms. Abbasova, two of the people familiar with the federal investigation said. They and others interviewed for this article spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing federal investigation. Mr. Adams, who extolled Turkish Airlines in 2017 when he told a pro-government publication that the carrier “is my way of flying,” received the upgrades both while serving as Brooklyn borough president and as mayor, on both official and personal trips, some of the people said. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Brendan R. McGuire, a lawyer for the mayor and his 2021 campaign, said there was nothing wrong with Mr. Adams’s receipt of the upgrades. “As borough president, the mayor consistently disclosed his official travel to Turkey, did not receive any improper upgrades and did nothing inappropriate in exchange for an upgrade,” Mr. McGuire said. “Speculation is not evidence. We look forward to a just and timely conclusion to this investigation.” The F.B.I. searches on Nov. 2 prompted the mayor’s abrupt return from a trip to Washington, D.C., where he was seeking federal aid for the city’s migrant crisis. They were followed by weeks of news coverage focused on the corruption inquiry, but agents and prosecutors have made few public moves since then. Mr. Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing, and it remains unclear whether the investigation will lead to criminal charges against him, Mr. Öcal, Ms. Abbasova or anyone else. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT A lawyer for Ms. Abbasova, Rachel Maimin, declined to comment. After repeated attempts to reach Mr. Öcal, including visits to his New Jersey home and messages left with his wife, he declined to answer questions or provide the name of his lawyer. A representative of Turkish Airlines declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the F.B.I. and the federal prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, who are jointly conducting the inquiry. Mr. Adams has long boasted of being an avid traveler, and he has taken trips in recent years to Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Monaco, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Senegal and China. He has talked about retiring to Azerbaijan, Israel and Lebanon. It was unclear how many free upgrades Mr. Adams accepted while flying Turkish Airlines or what their total value was. In 2023, round-trip business class seats on Turkish Airlines between the United States and Turkey generally cost at least $3,400 apiece — or about four times as much as an economy class seat, travel industry experts said. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT It was also unclear what, if anything, Mr. Öcal, the airline or the Turkish government might have gained from awarding the upgrades. But Mr. Adams received the upgrades during a period in which he and the airline were developing a close relationship, a New York Times review of city emails suggests. Mr. Adams has flown on Turkish Airlines since at least August 2015, when as Brooklyn borough president he took an official trip to Turkey and the carrier funded travel that his aides valued at about $1,500. Mr. Adams took a second official trip four months later, justifying it by saying he needed to speak about “city marketing” at a conference, meet with local officials and visit a refugee camp, city records show. Mr. Adams flew Turkish Airlines on that trip as well, according to the records. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT On another trip to Turkey in 2017, this time in a private capacity, he gave an interview praising Turkish Airlines to The Daily Sabah, saying that it accommodated his dietary needs and lauding its security protocols. Sent from 2015 to 2021, while Mr. Adams was borough president, the emails reviewed by The Times make reference to a series of private meetings between Mr. Adams, Turkish Airlines executives and Turkish government officials and businesspeople, as well as appearances with them at public events. Image An excerpt from an email about scheduling a dinner with Mr. Adams and Turkish Airlines. Emails obtained by The New York Times show that Mr. Adams’s relationship with Turkish Airlines dates at least to his time as Brooklyn borough president. Often the meetings and appearances were arranged through Ms. Abbasova, Mr. Adams’s liaison to the Turkish community. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT More than a few involved Mr. Öcal, who appeared to be on a first-name basis with Mr. Adams. “Cenk from turkish airlines opening,” Mr. Adams wrote to his staff in response to one invitation to an event, possibly referring to Mr. Öcal’s speaking slot. Mr. Öcal would later serve as one of several hundred people on Mr. Adams’s mayoral transition team. The first meeting described in the emails was scheduled for May 2016, when Ms. Abbasova inquired if he could attend a “dinner w Turkish Airlines.” The emails did not specify with whom he would be meeting, but his assistant responded that he would be available. He agreed to another meeting, a dinner with Mr. Öcal at Liman, a Turkish restaurant in Brooklyn, in April 2017, the emails show. Also scheduled to attend were the chairman and treasurer of the Türken Foundation, an American charity with close ties to the Turkish government. It was incorporated in 2014 by a son of Mr. Erdoğan and another man, who at the time was a board member of Turkish Airlines. Mr. Erdoğan’s daughter currently sits on its board. Image Another excerpt from an email. Mr. Adams attended meetings and events with Turkish business and government officials. The Türken Foundation’s chairman, Behram Turan, its treasurer, Memiş Yetim, and another board member would go on to give a total of $6,000 to Mr. Adams’s mayoral campaign from 2018 to 2021, contributions that were first reported by The City. Mr. Adams’s campaign refunded $1,000 to Mr. Turan to comply with the rules of the city’s public matching funds program. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Reached late last year, Mr. Turan, an engineer who lives in New Jersey, said he was an American citizen who has lived in the country for 30 years. He added that there was nothing inappropriate about his donation. On Thursday, Mr. Yetim said he could not remember the dinner with Mr. Adams. Mr. Turan declined to comment. In September 2017, Mr. Adams attended a Türken Foundation dinner and event with Mr. Erdoğan at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Manhattan. Mr. Adams would later present Mr. Yetim with a proclamation honoring the Türken Foundation for “outstanding achievements and contributions to society.” In December 2017, Mr. Adams was scheduled to attend another dinner, this time with Turkish consular officials, at a Brooklyn seafood restaurant run by two of his close friends. Mr. Öcal and another top Turkish Airlines official were on the guest list, the emails show. ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT In 2019, the emails show, Ms. Abbasova passed along an invitation from Turkish Airlines for Mr. Adams to attend a gala at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan. Mr. Adams had another event that night but an internal staff memo noted that he would do his best to attend, the emails show. Ms. Abbasova would be on site and provide frequent updates, the memo said. Mr. Adams did make it to the event, which featured Turkish dishes, a raw bar and high-end cocktails. He even took the microphone to speak, according to an article in Elite Traveler, a luxury lifestyle publication, which published photos of the event, including several of Mr. Öcal in a shiny blue tuxedo. Mr. Adams was the only city official listed in the account of the night, along with Turkish consular officials and diplomats, business leaders and Martha Stewart. Mr. Adams won the Democratic mayoral primary in June 2021. Soon after, he contacted the commissioner of the New York Fire Department at the time and urged him to allow the opening of the Turkish consulate building, which had been held up over fire safety concerns. The building received a temporary certificate of occupancy that September — shortly before Mr. Erdoğan presided over the consulate’s grand opening in Manhattan. Mr. Adams previously said it was part of his role as borough president “to notify government agencies of issues on behalf of constituents and constituencies.” ADVERTISEMENT SKIP ADVERTISEMENT In May 2022, the Turkish Philanthropy Funds, a New-York based nonprofit devoted to supporting social investments in the Turkish and Turkish American communities, held its 15th anniversary gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Adams, who made remarks at the event, was there in a dark suit, posing with the foundation’s chairman and the night’s honoree, the billionaire founder of the strained yogurt company Chobani. Mr. Öcal was there too, and was photographed in a tuxedo with the Turkish ambassador to the United States and their wives. It is unclear if he interacted with Mr. Adams that night. Their fortunes had gone in opposite directions. Mr. Öcal had been fired by Turkish Airlines by then, according to a Turkish news report, and Mr. Adams was newly ensconced as the mayor.

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