The BMZ Group, owned by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son, brother and brother-in-law, has sold five tankers for $75 million.
Maritime news website Deniz Haber Ajansı recently reported the story, saying that BMZ sold five tankers used to transport chemical products.
The ships owned by the maritime company, whose name bears the initials of Bilal Erdoğan, Mustafa Erdoğan and Ziya İlgen, are registered in Malta.
Current Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who was transportation minister in previous Erdoğan governments, had said they do not see any good intentions in flying foreign flags.
Both of Erdoğan’s sons, Bilal and Burak, have been in the maritime business despite the family’s modest background. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan grew up in a poor İstanbul neighborhood and rose to power as mayor of İstanbul in 1994.