Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has seized a total of 942 companies with a total value of TL 40.5 billion since a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, according to a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Atila Sertel about the number of companies that have either been transferred to Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) or to which the government has appointed trustees since July 15, Canikli said eight of the 942 companies seized by the government were holdings: Naksan, Hasırcı, Boydak, Koza-İpek, Dumankaya, Kaynak, Akla and Akfel.
There were 234 companies operating under these holdings, Canikli said.
The total equity capital of the seized companies is TL18.1 billion, while their combined turnover is TL 21.5 billion, according to a TMSF report.
The number of employees in the seized companies is 44,868.
The seized companies are from various sectors and include pharmacists, baklava sellers, supermarkets, gas stations and carpet sellers.
With regard to a question about the amount of salaries paid to the trustees appointed to the seized companies, Canikli said the trustee salaries range between TL 2,000 and TL 12,000.
The Turkish 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 faith-based Gülen movement, with the government coining the term “FETÖ” to designate the movement as a terrorist organization despite the lack of any court verdict to that effect.
The government accuses the movement of masterminding the failed coup attempt on July 15 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 organizations affiliated with the movement have already been seized by the TMSF over the course of the past three years.