Cevheri Güven
Exiled Turkish businessman Akın İpek has said members of the Turkish government and judiciary who are behind the confiscation of his family’s assets valued at $10 billion as part of a government-led crackdown will eventually appear in international courts and account for their unlawful deeds.
İpek’s remarks came during an exclusive interview with Turkish Minute on Thursday.
The businessman was thrust into the spotlight again after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly targeted him on Wednesday, saying that those like the “person in the UK” do not have the right to own property due to their links to the Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the abortive putsch.“They don’t have such a thing as the right to own property. They owe a huge debt to the public. This person in the UK, how is he going to pay the debt he owes? He should return to this country. That is what we’re fighting for and will continue to fight for,” Erdoğan said before departing for a visit to Azerbaijan.
Living in the UK since 2015, İpek was CEO of İpek Printing House and Koza Holding, which were seized in 2015. He was also the owner of a large media corporation that operated two TV stations, two newspapers and a radio station which were all subsequently shut down by Erdoğan’s government.
Response to Erdoğan
According to a report drafted by London Advocacy, the combined value of schools, universities, dormitories, foundations and associations seized over Gülen-related investigations amounts to $35 billion, while the exact amount of assets confiscated from businesspeople is unknown.
Accused by Erdoğan of being a terrorist and denied the right to own property, Akın said the reason Erdoğan has been targeting him and his family is money.
“After the authorities failed to find any irregularities in our companies, they came up with the idea of appointing government trustees in 2015. In order to do that, they used expert reports that later turned out to be fake. As I am outside the country, my trial cannot proceed, and they are unable to confiscate my [personal] stock,” İpek said.
“My brother Tekin and my mother’s shares were insufficient to control the company, so they seized the shares belonging to Tekin’s wife, too. To be able to do that, they sentenced them all to prison, my mother to 20 years and my brother Tekin to 90 years. What’s the difference between that and capital punishment?”
“This is the burden that our family has to bear. This is why I say they are committing murder for money.”