Kaynak warns of ‘accelerated smear campaign'

The Kaynak Holding business group, an organization close to the Hizmet movement, said on Sunday that certain media groups have made it a target of smear campaigns and are using routine government audits as fodder.

A Finance Ministry tax audit team examined tax documents related to Kaynak's operations on Wednesday evening last week. Kaynak described the audit as a “routine visit,” denying media reports that referred to it as a “raid.” “Recent days have seen an intense smear campaign against our company, coordinated by certain media groups. They are circulating news reports that are completely false and include baseless claims and accusations targeting our company,” the business group said in a written statement on Sunday. Kaynak Holding CEO Naci Tosun said certain media groups have deliberately pointed a finger at Kaynak, calling it a corrupt group in the eyes of the Turkish public. “The Turkish people will ignore and not be deceived by these false reports, and Kaynak will work even harder than ever to contribute to Turkey's development,” the statement said.

The audit at Kaynak came just a day after claims circulated among media outlets that the government intended to launch an operation against business groups with links to the opposition. The audit raised questions on the motives behind recent Finance Ministry visits to certain business groups and companies, with critics claiming that they are politically motivated searches ordered by the government.

Published on Sunday's Zaman, 30 March 2014, Sunday