US prosecutors have charged New Yorker Eric Adams with bribery and fraud as part of a “long-running” scheme that has upended politics in America’s largest city.

In what officials describe as an “abuse of power”, Adams is alleged to have accepted illegal gifts worth more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish nationals and at least one government official.

In return, the Turkish officials allegedly asked the mayor for favors, including help in circumventing security rules to open a consulate in New York, prosecutors said.

Adams, a former police captain, has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the allegations in court.

Let’s take a look at what we know.

Eric Adams faces five separate felony counts, including “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery of federal programs and receipt of campaign contributions from aliens,” wire fraud, two counts of solicitation of contributions from a alien, and bribery.”

According to the 57-page indictment, Adams allegedly accepted more than $100,000 in luxury trips – including hotel stays, lavish meals and flight upgrades – from Turkish nationals starting in 2016, when he was still president of the New York borough of Brooklyn.

In one case, for example, Adams is said to have received a “heavily discounted” stay in the Bentley Room at Istanbul’s St. Regis Hotel, paying $600 for a two-day visit worth about $7,000.

“This was a multi-year scheme to buy the favor of a single New York politician on the rise,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference.

In addition, Adams is said to have sought campaign donations from Turkish sources for his 2021 mayoral campaign.

None of this was publicly explained, and prosecutors allege that Adams used “straw donors” to conceal the sources of funds and at times created “false paper trails” that suggested he had paid or intended to pay for the gifts.

One of the counts in the indictment, wire fraud, stems from allegations that Adams hatched a scheme to obtain money “by using false and fraudulent pretenses in his dealings.”

Specifically, prosecutors allege that the money Adams received from Turkey allowed him to qualify for a public financing program that provides eligible political candidates with funds that match contributions from New York City residents.

Under the initiative, known as the Matching Funds Program, candidates are prohibited from accepting donations from individuals who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents, as well as from corporations and foreign companies and organizations.

According to the Justice Department, Adams fraudulently obtained up to $2,000 in public funds for each illegal donation.

In return for campaign contributions and lavish travel, Adams is said to have responded to various concerns raised by Turkish nationals and at least one government official.

In 2016, for example, the indictment says Adams was told he was cutting ties with a Turkish community center in Brooklyn after a Turkish official told him it was affiliated with a group “hostile” to the Turkish government.

This Turkish official also reportedly told him that he could no longer work with the center if he wanted to continue receiving “support” from the Turkish government.

In another case in 2021, prosecutors allege that Adams – at the behest of a Turkish diplomat – also pressured a New York City Fire Department official to ensure that the new Turkish consulate building in the city was ready for a visit by the Turkish president – without a fire inspection.

The fire official responsible for evaluating the skyscraper consulate building was told he would lose his job if he didn’t approve the building, prosecutors allege.

In this case, the indictment says a Turkish official told Adams it was “his turn to pay him back.”

“After Adams intervened, the skyscraper was opened as requested by the Turkish official,” the indictment says.

Adams has also denied these claims.

“I know that I do not accept money from foreign donors,” he said on Thursday.

In theory, Adams could face a lengthy prison sentence for these charges.

In the case of wire fraud alone, the maximum sentence is 20 years, while in both cases of soliciting campaign contributions from foreigners, the maximum sentence is five years each.

The bribery charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The remaining charge, “conspiring to commit wire fraud, bribery of federal programs, and receipt of campaign contributions from foreign nationals,” carries a maximum sentence of five years.

In the short term, the allegations are likely to jeopardize Adams’ political future ahead of his re-election in 2025.

Dozens of lawmakers, including New York City Council members and Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, have called on him to resign.

Adams has vowed to fight the allegations, calling for an “immediate” trial and resisting calls to resign.

“I will continue to do my job as mayor,” he said at a news conference.