Turkey seizes 691 companies over alleged ties to Gülen movement

The state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has announced that a total of 691 companies have been seized by the government due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.

The seized companies include giant holdings such as Boydak Holding, Kaynak Holding, Koza İpek Holding and Fi Yapı, according to a statement on the TMSF website on Friday.

The government has been confiscating the private property of non-loyalist businesspeople without due process on unsubstantiated charges of terrorist links.

The companies are alleged to be connected to the Gülen movement, a civic initiative based in Turkey, with the government coining the term “FETÖ” to designate the movement a terrorist organization despite the lack of any court verdict to that effect.

The government accuses the movement of masterminding a July 15 coup attempt even though the latter denies involvement, demanding credible evidence.

The government’s crackdown against the movement, however, is not limited to the period following the coup attempt since the managements of many institutions affiliated with the movement have already seized by the TMSF over the course of the past three years.

Published on Turkish Minute, 2 December 2016, Friday