Tesco has unwittingly found itself in the centre of a political scandal in Turkey.

An entrepreneur who sold a site near Istanbul to Tesco, which is set to become its biggest store in the country, allegedly bribed a politician to push through the planning application on the site more swiftly.

The supermarket paid Mehmet Karasu US$13 million (£6.9 million) for the site and he is accused of then offering US$1 million (£533,663) to a member of Turkey’s AKP party in order to have permission for the development agreed within less than a year.

Tesco is not accused of any malpractice. It said: “The allegations that have surfaced in Turkey are a political matter and have nothing to do with our purchase of land or subsequent store development.”

Tesco has more than 65 stores in Turkey. It entered the country in 2003 with a£75 million acquisition of supermarket chain Kipa.