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 Russia's defense ministry said last week it had proof that the
Erdogan family was benefiting from this trade. Turkey has already
dismissed the accusations and the president's son Bilal added his
voice to the many denials.
"We build offices in Istanbul ... We do not do business in the
Mediterranean, in Syria or Iraq," he was quoted as saying in
Corriere della Sera newspaper, talking about his own corporate
concerns, which have been called into question by Russian media.
"ISIS is an enemy of my country. ISIS is a disgrace. It puts my
religion in a bad light. They don't represent Islam and I do not
consider them to be Muslims," he said, referring to Islamic State by
one of its various acronyms.
One of the four children of President Erdogan, Bilal has shipping
and maritime assets and controls several oil tankers through his
company and partnerships in other firms.
 However, he denied he had any operational shipping activities,
saying his company had a contract to build "river tankers" for a
Russian client, but that it did not operate the ships itself. He
also denied that his brother Burak might have transported oil from
lands controlled by Islamic State.
"He has a cargo ship, but it cannot be used as a tanker." Instead,
he said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was profiting from the
sale of Islamic State oil. "If you follow ISIS oil, you will find
Assad."
Damascus has previously accused the Turkish government, which is
hostile to Assad, of allowing Islamic State insurgents to smuggle
contraband out of northern Syria.
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Relations between Turkey and Russia have chilled sharply after
Turkey last month shot down a Russian warplane that it said had
crossed into its air space from Syria.
"What happened concerning the Russian jet was unpleasant, but we
have to concentrate on the real problems: ISIS and the future of
Syria," Bilal Erdogan said.
Russian media reports suggested that Bilal was directly involved in
oil trade with Islamic State and that Turkey downed the Russian jet
to protect this oil smuggling business.
Bilal came to Italy earlier this year with his wife and family to
finish doctorate studies in the city of Bologna. Critics accused him
of fleeing Turkey in the wake of previous graft scandals. He denied
any wrongdoing and said he was in Italy to concentrate on his
studies.
(Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Crispian Balmer;
Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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