A controversial aide to Mayor Eric Adams who was suspended for inappropriate conduct urged City Hall staffers to delete texts after the FBI raided her home, a source close to the federal probe told The Post.
Rana Abbasova, director of protocol in the Office for International Affairs, was suspended from the $80,000-a-year post after Adams’ lawyers learned of her efforts to erase text message exchanges, the source said.
Federal investigators, who are probing Adams’ alleged fundraising irregularities, then obtained a court warrant to retrieve Adams’ mobile devices to determine if he had also received messages from Abbasova.
The mayor did not receive a message, the source said.
“It was immediately reported to investigators,” the source said, adding that any communications between Adams and Abbasova were “benign” and not central to the probe.
The FBI is probing whether Adams’ team conspired with the Turkish government to fuel his campaign with foreign donations and whether he urged the FDNY to fast-track permits for a new Turkish Consulate that had failed earlier safety inspection.
Rana Abbasova, director of protocol for Mayor Eric Adams’ Office for International Affairs, was suspended after Adams’ lawyers were tipped off that she urged city employees to delete text messages after the FBI raided her home. Facebook/Rena AbasovaPart of the investigation focuses on whether the mayor’s campaign teamed up with Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group and the Turkish government to use “straw donors” to illegally funnel foreign cash into his campaign coffers in exchange for favors, law enforcement sources said previously.
Neither Adams nor any member of his campaign has been accused of any wrongdoing.
The latest on the FBI probe into Mayor Eric Adams' campaign
On Nov. 2 the FBI raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ chief fundraiser, as part of an investigation into a potential kickback scheme involving Hizzoner’s 2021 campaign.
Adams downplayed the seriousness of the raid the next day, telling PIX11 that “where’s there’s smoke, there’s not always fire.”
Investigators were reportedly seeking evidence into whether money was funneled into Adams’ mayoral campaign by Brooklyn-based construction company KSK Construction Group as well as from officials in the Turkish government.
The probe has looked into whether Adams used his influence as then-Brooklyn borough president to get the Turkish consulate built despite fire hazard concerns. According to campaign records reviewed by The Post, Adams’ campaign accepted a $6,000 donation from three donors who served on the board of a foundation backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son Bilal.
Adams would later have two of his cellphones and an iPad seized by the feds in the investigation.
Adams’ campaign attorney Boyd Johnson said in a statement that Hizzoner is cooperating with federal investigators and a review found that an “individual had recently acted improperly.” That individual was identified as Adams administration staffer Rana Abbasova, who was later placed on leave.
The Post reported last week that the feds searched the homes of at least two people with ties to the mayor — Abbasova, who is originally from Azerbaijan, and Cenk Ocal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on Adams’ transition team. Abbasova’s New Jersey home was searched on Nov. 2.
The FBI probe into Mayor Eric Adams’ fundraising has included searches of the homes of at least two people close to the mayor, including Rana Abbasova from the Office for International Affairs. twitter
According to a source close to the federal probe, Abbasova’s messages were “immediately reported to investigators.” nyc.govAbbasova was suspended after a City Hall review that determined she had “acted improperly.”
It was not clear at the time that the action in question was her alleged attempt to delete text exchanges.
The FBI also raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and lobbyist for the mayor, on Nov. 2, prompting him to bail on a series of White House immigration meetings to return home.






