Boss, CEO detained in Istanbul in anti-Gülenist financial op

ISTANBUL

The chief executive of major Turkish company İhlas Holding and the owner of a leading contractor have been detained as part of an operation against another company, Akfa Holding.

Cahit Paksoy, who four months ago was appointed as the CEO of İhlas Holding, the parent company of 25 firms active in various sectors, was detained on Aug. 17.

Reports said Paksoy was detained as he had previously worked at Akfa Holding, which saw a major police operation a day earlier for alleged links to Fethullah Gülen, the suspect behind the July 15 coup attempt.

Within the scope of the operation, 97 people, including those from discount market chain A101, another company allegedly tied to Afka, were detained.

The Istanbul police’s financial crimes department conducted operations against Akfa and its 50 companies on Aug. 16, detaining its chairman.

The detainees working at Akfa Holding reportedly helped with “himmet” money transfers, reportedly amounting to $40 million, between 2011 and 2015 via Bank Asya to organizations in the United States and Canada.

“Himmet” refers to money collected as charity from followers of the Gülen movement.

Police also detained Fikret İnan, the owner of the large construction business Fi Yapı, on Aug. 16.