21 October 2009 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
The İstanbul 7th High Criminal Court yesterday issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Cem Uzan, a Turkish business mogul who recently fled to France to claim political asylum, over various crimes allegedly committed by him.
Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) lawyers asked the İstanbul court to issue an arrest warrant for Uzan on the grounds that he is a suspect at large.
The Uzan family attracted media attention in 2004 when the government seized more than 200 of their companies in what authorities described as an attempt to collect on debts totaling billions of euros. The seized companies include the Star Media Group, cement factories and Turkey's second-largest mobile telephone network, Telsim. The government said the move was necessary to stop the Uzans from siphoning off company assets. The Uzans have also been locked in a legal battle with US telecommunications equipment maker Motorola and Finland's Nokia over nearly $3 billion in loans to Telsim.
