Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay has said the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) had appointed trustees to 1,004 companies across 42 provinces as of Oct. 25 over their alleged links to the Gülen movement under a crackdown that began following a coup attempt in July 2016, Turkish media reports said on Wednesday.
Speaking in the Turkish Parliament about the presidency budget, Oktay said the value of assets of the seized companies as of Sept. 30 was TL 55.74 billion, while their total turnover was TL 21.95 billion, total owned resources TL 21.05 billion and period income TL 1.53 billion.
The government has seized companies including Koza, Boydak, Dumankaya, Akfa, Orkide, Sesli and Naksan, which were among the 500 largest firms in Turkey.
The seized companies were conducting business in every aspect of trade including mining, gasoline distribution, automotives, home textiles, jewelry, pharmacies, hardware, home decor and information technology.
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, 2016 although the latter denies any involvement.
The government’s crackdown on the movement, however, is not limited to the period following the coup attempt since the management of many organizations affiliated with the movement had already been seized by the TMSF over the course of the past four years.