CEO of seized Koza-İpek appeals for fair investigation

Turkish businessman Akın İpek, the former CEO of the seized conglomerate Koza-İpek Holding, called on prosecutors on Thursday to allow a fairer probe into the alleged wrongdoings in the holding, stressing that the firm's losses have already hit $1 billion.

On Oct. 26, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered Koza-İpek Holding to be placed under the management of a trustee panel while an investigation continues into the group's alleged financial and management wrongdoings.

“Local and foreign investors have sustained serious losses. I call on the prosecutors to appoint independent auditing institutions to investigate the holding's activities. These institutes should provide relatively faster and correct information,” İpek said on his Twitter account on Thursday. He added that the auditing bodies should be authorized by the Capital Markets Board (SPK). As you can see, İpek called on prosecutors “that gold production at our facilities [has continued] without a problem since the holding was seized. …and you have seen that there is no abuse in our transactions. What else is left to search for? We have strived for years to establish and develop these firms.”

Prior to its seizure, companies belonging to Koza-İpek Holding were initially raided on Sept. 9 by police seeking financial documents after a court issued a search warrant. The Finance Ministry's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which conducted the raids, failed to find any illegal activities or transactions after thoroughly investigating the holding's files and records.

Published on Today's Zaman, 19 November 2015, Thursday