Bank Asya vows to sue officials remaining silent over ‘smear campaign’ against lender

ISTANBUL

A Bank Asya logo is seen at a branch in Ankara. REUTERS Photo

Islamic lender Bank Asya has announced that it will file a criminal complaint against “delinquent” public servants, in retaliation against mounting government pressure on the bank, which has been wrangling with financial constraints.

Condemning the related authorities for inaction over the media reports, which it describes as “an economic lynch campaign,” Bank Asya said it will sue officials “who have committed a crime by neglecting their job of oversight.”

“We will use all of our legal rights against those run a slander and lynch campaign against our bank and those turn a blind eye to this,” the lender vowed in a statement released on Sept. 5.

Bank Asya’s statement came a day after pro-government daily Sabah reported that Turkey’s banking watchdog, the BDDK, had adopted sweeping measures regarding the lender. The BDDK will keep the lender under scrutiny within the framework of Article 70 of Turkey’s Banking Law, a source speaking to Reuters also confirmed.

However, the BDDK has yet to confirm or deny the reports publicly.

The move would also give the watchdog the power to restrict or temporarily halt Bank Asya’s
operations, as well as to merge it with another bank.

The lender, whose founders are known to be sympathizers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has found itself at the center of the political turf war between the government and Gülen supporters, particularly since the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption probe that kindled the row.

In recent months, pro-government newspapers have noticeably ramped up the volume and tone of negative reports about the bank.