Turkish police detained 33 people on Monday in dawn raids targeting a popular dessert chain over alleged fundraising for the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkish Minute reported.
The subject of the operation was Antiochia Künefe, headquartered in the western province of İzmir, with branches in four other provinces.
The İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, working with Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), ordered the detention of 41 people following an investigation into the chain’s financial records and alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Simultaneous raids in İzmir, Istanbul, Hatay, Gaziantep and Manisa resulted in 33 detentions.
Prosecutors claim that digital materials seized in previous operations revealed a money trail linked to Antiochia Künefe’s business operations. Authorities seized 100,000 Turkish lira ($2,500) in cash, 33 gold coins and various digital files and documents.
Seven suspects are believed to have fled the country, while efforts to locate at least one fugitive are ongoing.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began targeting its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016, which he accused Gülen of masterminding.
Monday’s raids are part of a broader campaign by Turkish authorities to dismantle what they describe as the movement’s “current structure,” often targeting businesses, educators, journalists and civil society groups. Human rights organizations and Western governments have repeatedly voiced concern over Ankara’s use of counterterrorism laws to stifle dissent and punish perceived political opponents.
In a similar operation some 400 people were detained in raids in February and earlier in May targeting the Maydonoz Döner fast-food chain, which authorities also accuse of ties to the Gülen movement. At least 126 people, including four civil servants, were arrested.
The company, founded in 2018 by businessman Ömer Şeyhin, rapidly expanded to operate over 400 restaurants across Turkey and abroad. Trustees were appointed to manage its assets, a practice widely used by the government since 2016 to seize control of companies allegedly affiliated with the Gülen movement.
Over the past decade, the Gülen movement, once praised by the Turkish government for its contributions to education and interfaith dialogue, has been subjected to a sweeping purge. The Turkish government has blamed the group not only for the failed coup but also for high-profile corruption probes in 2013.
Gülen and his followers have repeatedly denied any links to terrorism, but the government’s crackdown has continued unabated. Since 2016, more than 700,000 people have been investigated for terrorism or coup-related accusations due to alleged ties to the movement, with thousands arrested.
Monday’s operation is part of a broader campaign against alleged Gülen supporters, with Turkish authorities continuing to target individuals and businesses suspected of links to the group.
A report last year titled “Persecutory Confiscation Amounting to Crimes Against Humanity: Case of the Gülen Group” exposed the vast scale of property confiscations in Turkey targeting the movement, with an estimated value of $50 billion and affecting over 1.5 million people in what the authors call systematic and widespread violations of domestic and international law that amount to “crimes against humanity.”
