Turkish businessman Cem Uzan sentenced to 18 years in prison

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Cem Uzan was the former owner of Imar Bank, Adabank and Telsim cellular phone operator as well as the founder of the first Turkish private broadcaster, Star TV.

Turkish businessman Cem Uzan, who currently lives in the French capital of Paris, has been sentenced to 18 years and five months in prison for embezzlement.

The 8th Istanbul Court for Serious Crimes dropped the charges of fraud and leading a criminal gang against Uzan due to the statute of limitations on March 29, but found him guilty of embezzlement. 
The former owner of Imar Bank, Adabank and Telsim cellular phone operator was also fined 4.4 billion Turkish Liras ($2.45 billion)

Uzan was accused of channeling money deposits kept in Imar Bank to construction companies owned by the Uzan family.

There is a standing arrest warrant for Uzan, who moved to France in 2001. The former businessman also tried his luck in politics with the Young Party (GP), which he founded in July 2002.

The party won 7 percent of votes in the November 2002 general elections in which the then still-ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the majority. However the party failed to win any parliamentary seats since its total votes were below the 10 percent election threshold.