CHP asks gov't about audits of Tüpraş, Boydak

Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Umut Oran has submitted a parliamentary question on whether prep schools and companies, including media outlets affiliated with the Hizmet movement, will be the next target of government audits after Tüpraş and Boydak.

Oran noted that it is unacceptable to use Ministry of Finance auditors and its related commissions as a tool to put businessmen under pressure or as a way to punish entrepreneurs who have opposing views to the government.

In his question, Oran asked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan whether he had given directions to carry out audits on two main conglomerates and give them high fines as punishments.

“If those companies have been engaged in illegal business, why hasn't the government carried out any audits until now? Have you given any directions to carry out audits on Hizmet movement-affiliated companies and some certain media groups after your directions for the closure of prep schools?” asked Oran.The government's plan to ban prep schools that train students for high school and university entrance exams has divided society.

Central Anatolian conglomerate Boydak Holding, a firm whose vice chairman of the board criticized the government over a raid on another company over the summer, is now facing a round of tax audits of its three subsidiaries. A factor that is fueling speculation over the Boydak audits is that the holding works in close cooperation with the Hizmet movement, which has come under fire from pro-government circles amid a controversial plan to ban Turkey's prep schools, many of which are affiliated with the movement.

Recently, Boydak told The Wall Street Journal's Turkish edition that the tax audit “is a routine procedure and has no links to current debates over Hizmet or earlier comments on Koç.”

Observers, however, say the audit could be a veiled warning from government to firms close to the Hizmet movement. Last week, Erdoğan referred to the Hizmet movement as the “other side.”

“That the prep schools can be closed by decree is causing unease in the business world, with everyone worrying about who might be next in line, or which industry may face closure going forward,” WSJ Turkey quoted Hizmet-affiliated Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) Chairman Rızanur Meral as saying on Thursday.

Mustafa Boydak, also the chairman of the Kayseri Chamber of Industry (KAYSO), in July urged the government to refrain from pressuring elite companies, alluding to the government's tax probes into Koç Holding subsidiaries.

Boydak's July comments followed a raid on the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ) after government inspectors found large-scale tax evasion last year in oil-distributing companies. TÜPRAŞ is a subsidiary of Koç Holding, Turkey's largest conglomerate. Analysts questioned the timing of the raid, as it came amid the wave of anti-government protests sparked by the Gezi Park movement this summer and followed stern warnings from Prime Minister Erdoğan to the conglomerate, which opened its hotel in Taksim to Gezi Park protesters escaping tear gas fired by police.

Erdoğan had said Gezi backers -- whom he often referred to as the “interest rate lobby” -- “will pay for their misdeeds.”

In an earlier speech, Koç Holding Chairman Mustafa Koç repudiated the claims that his group actively supported the Gezi Park protests of early summer, saying that the opening of the Divan Hotel's doors to demonstrators who were escaping from the police was only out of humanitarian concerns.

“There are lots of allegations like there is a big conspiracy being put on against Turkey and that we are a part of it. We are asserting at every opportunity how important domestic peace and economic and social stability is for our country's future and prosperity and hence the future of the business world. Therefore, we cannot allow comments aligning our group with movements that target Turkey's stability to stand,” Koç said.

Published on Sunday's Zaman, 01 December 2013, Sunday

Related: Koç-defender Boydak's firm target of gov't audits