Bank Asya sells venue of ex-AKP conventions

ISTANBUL

The participation bank did not elaborate on the buyer or buyers.

Bank Asya, a Turkish lender with close links to the movement of religious scholar Fethullah Gülen, has moved to sell assets worth around 133 million Turkish Liras, including a symbolically important facility that previously hosted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) meetings.

The bank, which has developed a partnership with the Qatar Islamic Bank, stated in a filing to the stock exchange on July 1 that it had undersigned a protocol to sell its Tuna Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı A.S., a real estate investment trust, for 62.8 million Turkish Liras, as well as a 24.2 percent share worth 69.25 million liras in Nil Yönetim Hizmetleri Emlak Turizm San.ve Tic. A.S., a real estate and tourism company.

The participation bank did not elaborate on the buyer or buyers, as it said the process still requires legal approval.

Tuna owns the Kızılcahamam facilities in Ankara, which had hosted the ruling AKP’s consultancy meetings for many years, until the party moved to hold its convention in the western city of Afyon this year, following its bust-up with the Gülen movement. The government accuses the movement of organizing wiretappings that resulted in the detention of ministers’ sons late last year.

The bank’s deposits have plunged by 24.3 percent, 4.5 billion Turkish Liras, since the beginning of the year, the bank said May, indicating the extent of the reported massive government-forced withdrawal.