Turkish authorities carried out a wide-ranging operation across 17 provinces as part of an investigation into a financial and commercial network suspected of being linked to the religious group known in Türkiye as the Süleymancılar.
The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and focuses on Alihan Kuriş and people suspected of being part of a hierarchical financial and commercial structure linked to him.
Judicial proceedings cover 49 suspects, while 30 people, including Alihan Kuriş, were detained during simultaneous operations.
Turkish authorities are continuing to search for the remaining suspects. Available information indicates that some wanted suspects are outside the country.
Searches and seizures at 123 locations
The operation was conducted simultaneously in 17 Turkish provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya.
Searches and seizures covered a total of 123 locations: 43 linked to suspects and 80 belonging to 33 companies.
Authorities are examining the companies’ financial records and documents, as well as digital materials seized during the searches.
Investigation covers five main offenses
The suspects are being investigated on several allegations, including establishing and managing a criminal organization, membership in a criminal organization, laundering money and assets derived from criminal activities, fraud causing harm to public institutions and bodies, and violations of Türkiye’s Tax Procedure Law.
Türkiye’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, MASAK, has also conducted extensive financial analyses of companies and individuals believed to have financial links to the network under investigation.
MASAK examines money flows within companies
MASAK’s analyses identified a notable increase in the volume of financial transactions and commercial activity at several companies, particularly since 2020.
The investigation also focused on the division and transfer of ownership of some companies, followed by the establishment of new companies with high capital levels.
It also covers large amounts of cash introduced into some companies, capital increases, transfers between affiliated companies and financial transactions conducted through different payment channels.
Authorities are determining whether financial and commercial transfers between the companies were based on actual commercial activities. They are also investigating suspicions that improper invoices were used in some transactions.
Investigation examines money flows exceeding 100 billion Turkish lira
One of the case’s most prominent aspects concerns financial activity worth more than 100 billion Turkish lira.
Authorities are examining claims that more than 100 billion lira linked to individuals and companies under investigation was transferred abroad through various means.
The prosecutor’s office and financial authorities are seeking to determine the source of the money, the people and companies involved in the transfers, the entities that received the funds abroad and whether the money was connected to proceeds from criminal activities.
These claims remain under investigation, and no final court ruling has been issued.
Thirty-three companies searched as 32 company names emerge in investigation
The commercial dimension is one of the broadest parts of the investigation.
Authorities searched and seized materials at 80 locations belonging to 33 companies. At the same time, information published about the investigation listed 32 companies whose possible financial or commercial links to the network are being scrutinized.
The companies operate across a wide range of sectors, including construction, real estate, food, textiles, healthcare, tourism, automobiles, jewelry, maritime activities, agriculture, electronics and security systems.
List of the 32 companies named in the investigation
The companies named as part of the financial and commercial investigation include:
- ELF Yapı Anonim Şirketi
- Altun Mimarlık İnşaat Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Güldeniz İnşaat Anonim Şirketi
- Ardeniz Emlak Anonim Şirketi
- Garanti Gayrimenkul Geliştirme Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Arden Gıda İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- ŞMS Kopuz Gıda Pazarlama ve Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Tasfiye Halinde TEB Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Özgür Giyim Tekstil Ürünleri Ticaret ve Sanayi Anonim Şirketi
- Armine Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Hisar Sağlık Hizmetleri Eğitim-Araştırma ve Tıbbi Cihazlar İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Ayakkabı Dünyası Kundura Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Akdeniz Toros Et ve Et Mamülleri Sanayi ve Dış Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- İstanbul Hisar Turizm ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- MKM Taş Ocağı Hafriyat İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Perka Yapı İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Günso İnşaat Gıda Eğitim ve Yurt Hizmetleri Ticaret ve Sanayi Anonim Şirketi
- Seli Kaynak ve Meyve Suları İşletmeleri Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- MKM Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Asya Otomotiv ve Tekstil Pazarlama Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- MKM Elektronik Ekipmanları ve Güvenlik Sistemleri Sanayi Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Seli Turizm Otelcilik İnşaat Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Ada Nakış Desen Dokuma Giyim İmalat Ticaret ve Sanayi Limited Şirketi
- Verona Ev Tekstil Ürünleri Ticaret ve Pazarlama Anonim Şirketi
- Ada Dokuma İmalat Sanayi Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Güleryüz Kuyumculuk Turizm ve Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Asya Süs Bitkileri Fidancılık ve Tarım İşletmeleri Pazarlama Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Sakarya Üniversitesi Teknoloji Geliştirme Bölgeleri Yönetici Anonim Şirketi
- Han Yapı Grubu Mühendislik Mimarlık İnşaat Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi
- Bolu Yıldız Eğitim İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi
- Doğu Marmara Avrupa Birliği İş Geliştirme Merkezi (ABİGEM) Anonim Şirketi
- Göknur Gıda Maddeleri Enerji İmalat İthalat İhracat Ticaret ve Sanayi Anonim Şirketi
Ayakkabı Dünyası, Armine and Göknur Gıda among prominent names
The inclusion of several widely known companies in Türkiye on the list has drawn attention to the economic and financial dimension of the investigation.
Among the prominent names is Ayakkabı Dünyası Kundura Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, which operates in footwear retail, as well as Armine Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, a known brand in the clothing and textile sector.
The list also includes Göknur Gıda Maddeleri Enerji İmalat İthalat İhracat Ticaret ve Sanayi AŞ, which operates in the food industry.
The list also includes companies operating in healthcare, tourism, construction, automobiles, textiles, jewelry, agriculture and security technologies.
The inclusion of a company’s name in the investigation does not establish criminal responsibility, as judicial proceedings are ongoing.
Authorities investigate links between companies
The investigation is also focusing on the nature of the relationships between the different companies.
Financial authorities identified cases in which companies with different trade names and operating in different sectors used the same or related addresses.
For this reason, the investigation covers not only financial transactions but also company ownership structures, shareholders, managers, capital movements, registered addresses and commercial and financial relationships between companies.
Authorities are seeking to determine whether the companies operated independently or formed parts of a broader interconnected financial and commercial network.
Commercial network extends across multiple economic sectors
The company list shows that the commercial activities under scrutiny are not limited to a single economic sector.
The sectors include construction, real estate, textiles, clothing, footwear, food and beverage production, healthcare, tourism, hotels, automobiles, jewelry, maritime activities, agriculture, electronics, security systems and technology development.
In this context, MASAK is examining the movement of money and goods between the companies and whether common financial links exist among institutions operating in these different sectors.
Foreign financial links under scrutiny
The international dimension is one of the investigation’s important areas.
As part of the inquiry into money flows exceeding 100 billion Turkish lira, authorities are seeking to identify the countries and accounts to which the money may have been transferred, the beneficiaries of those transfers and whether foreign companies or entities participated in them.
A major center in the German city of Cologne has also emerged in the case.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the structure in question had established a center in Cologne valued at approximately $70 million.
Authorities are also investigating possible links between financial activities abroad and the companies and individuals covered by the investigation in Türkiye.
Investigation focuses on alleged financial and criminal activities
The published information about the operation indicates that the investigation primarily focuses on alleged financial, commercial and criminal activities linked to Alihan Kuriş and people around him, rather than the religious or social activities of all members of the Süleymancılar group.
As part of the investigation, authorities use the term “Alihan Kuriş criminal organization” to refer to the alleged structure under investigation.
Legal proceedings against those detained are continuing, alongside the search for the remaining suspects and the examination of companies’ financial records and documents.
The next stages of the investigation are expected to provide more details about the findings of MASAK reports, transfers of money abroad, relationships between companies and any possible judicial measures against the individuals or companies covered by the investigation.
All charges and allegations concerning the individuals and companies named remain part of an ongoing judicial investigation. The appearance of their names in the case does not establish that they committed crimes, and the presumption of innocence remains in force unless a final court ruling determines otherwise.
