Turkish prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for former media boss and businessman Turgay Ciner, while a court put his Ciner Group’s Park Holding and its subsidiaries under the control of a state-run fund, all part of a money-laundering investigation, Turkish Minute reported on Monday.
According to a statement from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, detention warrants were also issued on Sunday for 12 managers at companies affiliated with the Ciner Group who were subsequently taken into custody.
Prosecutors cited suspicions of money laundering in the acquisition of several Ciner-owned media outlets, including Habertürk TV and Show TV, by Can Holding in 2024.
Ciner Group’s Park Holding and affiliated companies — AFC Import Export Tourism, Zeyfa Import Export and Silopi Electric Production Inc. — have been placed under the control of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), the state body that oversees confiscated assets.
Turgay Ciner, 69, is one of Turkey’s most prominent businessmen, with interests spanning energy, mining, chemicals and media. He founded Park Holding in 1978 and later built it into a diversified conglomerate, at one point controlling companies such as Eti Soda, among the world’s largest soda ash producers.
Once ranked among the world’s billionaires by Forbes, he appeared in the magazine’s 2021 list with an estimated fortune of $1.3 billion, making him number 2,263 globally. By 2025 Forbes Turkey listed him as the country’s 35th richest individual with an estimated net worth of $950 million. He has been living in London in recent years, where his London-based firms WE Soda and Ciner Glass manage major investments, including a 2025 acquisition in the US valued at $1.4 billion.
Ciner was also a major media player from the late 1990s until 2024. He acquired Habertürk, Show TV and Bloomberg HT, along with other outlets, before transferring all his media holdings to Can Holding in December 2024 as part of what his group described as a strategic exit from the sector. With prosecutors now alleging that these transfers were used to launder illicit assets, the businessman has also become a target in the expanding probe.
The developments come after an investigation targeting Can Holding, one of Turkey’s largest private conglomerates, on allegations of forming a criminal organization, tax evasion, fraud and money laundering led to the seizure of 121 of the conglomerate’s companies on September 11. The companies included broadcasters Habertürk TV, Show TV, Bloomberg HT and HT Spor, once part of Ciner Holding. The government also seized İstanbul Bilgi University and the nationwide Doğa College network, which were part of the conglomerate’s extensive education portfolio.
On September 15 a court ruled to impose house arrest and a travel ban on Can Holding Chairman Kenan Tekdağ while jailing five other executives. Of two other senior figures, Kemal Can has since been arrested, while Mehmet Şakir Can remains at large.
The takeover of Can Holding is the latest in a series of high-profile corporate seizures in Turkey. Since a failed coup in 2016, the Turkish government has put hundreds of businesses under state control, often citing links to alleged criminal networks or terrorism financing. The number of seized companies was 784 with a total asset value of TL 42.3 billion at the time of their takeover, according to official figures.
Critics, including human rights groups and opposition parties, have accused the government of using such measures to punish political opponents and silence dissenting media.
Founded by entrepreneur Zamanhan Can, Can Holding traces its roots to a trading company established in 1972. Can consolidated his businesses under Can Holding in 1986, relocating its headquarters to İstanbul in 1990.
The conglomerate has since expanded into multiple industries including education, energy, consumer electronics, technology, logistics, health care and media.
