Turkish government has effectively nationalized 809 companies by taking over their management or turning them over to the Treasury as of January 2017 as part of the crackdown on opposition and critical groups in the country, the Parliamentary inquiry revealed.
Responding to a motion filed by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Denizli deputy Melike Basmacı, deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said the government has seized 809 companies as of Jan.11, 2017 with a total value of TL38,3 billion (nearly $10 billion).
That represents an escalation on the asset seizure and nationalization efforts by Turkish government that appears to be determined in grabbing the wealth of critics and opponents in an effort to deprive the opposition of financial resources and enrich its loyalists.
On Sept.1, 2016, Minister for Environment and Urbanization Mehmet Özhaseki said some TL 12 billion (about $4 billion) in property has been transferred to the Treasury as part of an investigation into the Hizmet movement.
The government initially said they will take over the management of companies until the investigation, prosecution and trial phases are completed. That was changed with a new government decree No.680 earlier this month, allowing the government to dispose of the seized assets, auction them off and sell to the third parties.
The decree mainly covers companies that are alleged to have been affiliated with or sponsored Hizmet movement, inspired by the US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen who is a vocal critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on government’s involvement in corruption as well as aiding and abetting radical armed groups in Syria. Turkish government branded Gulen as ‘terrorist’ and asked for his extradition from the US. Washington has so far balked at the request, citing lack of any evidence suggesting Gulen is involved in any type of terror activity.
Turkish government has led the campaign to crackdown on firms on alleged links to Gulen with the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) taking over the assets and wealth of major corporations.
Assets of prominent businessman Akın İpek, whose worth is estimated at $7 billion, were seized as well as all property and assets of Boydak Holding, a leading business group in the central province of Kayseri.
The government also seized Bank Asya, the largest Islamic lender that is affiliated with Gülen, on dubious grounds of financial mismanagement in May 2015. The bank’s shareholders denied the allegations and launched a legal action.
The arbitrary seizures, considered as an attack on right to private property and right to free enterprise by many, drew negative reactions from the opposition as well as from abroad, shaking investors’ confidence in Turkish economy.
See the list of seized private companies in Turkey: http://www.tmsf.org.tr/sirket
Jan. 30, 2017
[…] short selling. This has taken place alongside well-founded concerns over the prospect for the nationalization of private entities. Istanbul has also placed restrictions […]