 |
TMSF seizes control of Garipoğlu Group companies
The seizure of the companies took place on Saturday morning, and the TMSF appointed new managers to the boards and inspectorates to all 70 companies that day. Members of the Garipoğlu family lost all their rights to the companies and were expelled from any managerial capacity.
The fund had only had one member in the management of each of these companies as its representative before the seizure. It now holds the ownership of the companies on behalf of the state.
The Garipoğlu Group's debt to the TMSF totaled $313 million as of July 10, with $75 million interest on a principal of $238 million.
TMSF signed a contract with the Garipoğlu Group on Aug. 12, 2004 to create a payment scheme to pay off its debt to the TMSF after the fund bailed out the group. This contract was revised on Jan. 7 because of obstacles faced by the group. The fund collected a total of TL 136.4 million from the group between 2002 and July 10.
The TMSF issued a declaration on Saturday announcing its move and outlining the reasons for the seizure. It said the group attempted to establish new companies in the fields it already operates in without notifying the TMSF in advance, which is in clear contradiction with the conditions set in the group's contract with the fund.
Moreover, the group failed to inform the fund about changes in the partnership structures of some of its companies. It also did not notify the TMSF about the transfer of assets or companies of the group. The statement further noted that the group deceived the fund by deliberately misconstruing facts or sending false information about its firms. For example, a few companies of the group were in operation although Garipoğlu had said they were no longer active. Additionally, the group operated a number companies abroad, unbeknown to the TMSF.
In consideration of all these contract violations, the TMSF said it seized control of the companies to prevent any attempts to decrease the group's ability to pay its debt.
The TMSF recently announced that an auction would be held on Aug. 5 for the sale of the group's alcoholic beverages producer Burgaz, with an appraised value of $82.5 million. The bid specifications for the sale of Burgaz will be disclosed today. The fund also decided to apply the rules of the contract vis-à-vis the defaulted payments since the group failed to meet it financial obligations outlined in the contract.
The Garipoğlu Group operated companies in various sectors including chemicals, textiles, TV broadcasting and the production and marketing of alcoholic beverages.
The Garipoğlu family was already in the spotlight in relation to the murder of Münevver Karabulut. Turkish security forces and Interpol are currently searching for Cem Garipoğlu, the nephew of group Chairman Hayyam Garipoğlu, on charges that he killed Karabulut, sawing her body into pieces before throwing her corpse into a dumpster.
The companies the TMSF seized include Papilla, Ceyteks, İpeks, Sümer Copper, Berolina, Taurus, Ak Maya, Aknişasta and Burgaz Rakı.
Shocking news for Uzans
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor in İstanbul's Şişli district opened a case against some members of the Uzan family on Saturday, accusing them of laundering illegally obtained money. The prosecutor's office demanded prison sentences of between three to 20 years for 25 people, including Cem Uzan, Hakan Uzan and Kemal Uzan.
The indictment claimed that the suspects transferred TL 1.9 billion, $466 million and 240 million euros from time deposits of İmar Bankası and İmar Off-Shore customers to their personal accounts and then extended this capital as loans to some of the group's companies. It also stated that the family used this money to buy shares of the confiscated Çukurova Electricity Corporation (ÇEAŞ) and Kepez Electricity Corporation.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| The modern ‘Great Game’: women’s role and status | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
| KATHY HAMILTON |  |
||
| Random acts of violence | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| Adding insult to injury in Uludere | |||
| NICOLE POPE |  |
||
| Shifting responsibility | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| ‘Errorism’ | |||
| ORHAN MİROĞLU |  |
||
| ‘Strategic vision’ | |||
| ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ |  |
||
| Turkey through Amnesty International’s eyes | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
