Prosecutors in Turkiye have seized control of a 121-company conglomerate, which includes three major television stations, and ordered the arrest of 10 of its executives on fraud charges, according to media reports.
The arrest order on Thursday targeted management at Can Holding, which is known for its energy and education assets, and which last year acquired prominent TV channels including Haberturk, Show TV and Bloomberg HT, an affiliate of Bloomberg News.
In a statement published in Turkish media, prosecutors in the Istanbul district of Kucukcekmece said they had uncovered evidence that “an organisation was established to commit crimes through companies operating under Can Holding … including fraud, tax evasion … and money laundering”.
It ordered the arrest of 10 people, including Can Holding’s owners, and placed the assets of its 121 companies under the charge of a third party, the TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkiye).
Bloomberg HT is the main Turkish-language channel focused on business and the economy.
In early morning raids, police detained Can’s three top executives, Mehmet Sakir Can, Kemal Can, and Kenan Tekdag, the private NTV channel said.
Tekdag is head of Ciner Media Group, which was acquired by the conglomerate in December, with Can saying he would be responsible for all of its media holdings.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said that a private university under the Can Holdings was also among those seized by prosecutors.
Our correspondent quoted the TMSF as saying that there will be “no disruption” in the companies, and that the channels and the educational institutions being taken over will continue to operate.
“Since there are media companies included, people are curious about what is going to happen, and how those media outlets are going to be operating,” she said.
The move comes as the government has tightened its grip over the media, drawing a warning from watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“The operation targeting Can Holding, the owner of Haberturk & BloombergHT, may have its own justifications. The corruption in the sector is undeniable,” RSF’s Turkiye representative Erol Onderoglu said.
“However, the process may also serve an environment where control over media ownership is further tightened with the aim of establishing a single voice.”
Can Holding also has shares in the construction group, Tekfen Holding.
In a statement to the stock exchange, Tekfen Holding said entities linked to Can Holding hold a combined 17.56 percent stake in Tekfen. It said no judicial action had been taken against those shares or Tekfen’s corporate entity.
