Yesterday’s hearing in Paris started with testimony by Hakan Uzan, who has a special eight-day permission to travel to France without being extradited. It was reported that his brother Cem Uzan was with him after his arrival in Paris on a private jet.
Representatives from the Ministry of Energy were also at the hearing to testify against the arbitration claim, whose principle is $10.1 billion but amounts to $21.5 billion with interest. The tribunal will decide tomorrow whether to hear the case based “on merit.”
The first day of deliberations on Tuesday ended after 10 hours of talks with both parties. Neither party answered questions from journalists. It was reported that Hakan Uzan, for whom an Interpol red notice was issued six-and-a-half years ago, seemed relaxed and unbothered when walking around the streets of Paris.
The claim was filed by Libananco, a Greek Cyprus-based company that held a 66 percent share in the Uzan Group’s Çukurova Electricity Corporation (ÇEAŞ) and the Kepez Electricity Corporation. Libananco is claiming damages for losses incurred due to the government’s seizure of the Uzan Group’s companies. The two companies in question were seized by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) along with 200 other companies in 2003 after it was found that the Uzan Group’s İmar Bank sold nonexistent Treasury bonds and offered above-market interest rates for dollar deposits -- interest that was never paid. It was further ruled in 2009 that the Uzan Group had engaged in the fraudulent sale of company shares.
