German media reported that a Turkish parliamentarian has provided money to a boxing gang in Germany to buy weapons, organize protests, and go after critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reported the Deutsche Welle (DW) TV and radio company of Germany.

Metin Kulunk, a member of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and close confidant of Erdogan, directly and indirectly provided money to the Turkish nationalist Osmanen Germania (Ottoman Germy), according to research by Frontal 21, an investigative news program on German public broadcaster ZDF, and the daily Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

Osmanen Germania describes itself as a boxing club and “brotherhood,” but German authorities have long suspected it of being involved in criminal activity and violence. It is estimated to have 20 chapters and 2,500 members in Germany.

One of Kulunk’s main contacts was Mehmet Bagci, the former head of Osmanen Germania who has been in pre-trial detention in Germany since 2016. Another key figure was the group’s vice president, Selcuk Sahin, who is also detained.

According to police investigations, Osmanen Germania was instructed by Kulunk to go after Kurds and critics of Erdogan living in Germany. Also, he allegedly organized protests against last year’s Armenian Genocide resolution passed by the German parliament.