The Turkish government has seized eight more companies in Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, accused of masterminding a July 15, 2016 coup attempt, a claim denied by the movement.
Trustees were appointed by the government to eight companies that were owned by a businessman who has been under investigation over his links to the movement. The companies operate in the food, automotive, mining, construction and telecommunication sectors.
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 allegedly connected to the 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.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on July 17 that the government had seized 966 companies from people allegedly linked to the Gülen movement.
“In addition, 4,888 properties of those 966 companies were also seized and transferred to the Finance Ministry,” said Kurtulmuş, speaking to reporters following a Cabinet meeting in Ankara.
The assets of the seized companies were announced to be more than $12 billion by then-Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli in May. (Turkey Purge)