Major furniture firm seized in anti-Gülen probe

İZMİR

The Turkish authorities have seized a major furniture company based in the Aegean province of İzmir in the ongoing probe into the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, widely believed to have masterminded the failed July 15 coup attempt.

A trustee panel was appointed to run Alfemo on Oct. 1 following a police raid on the company’s factory and headquarters in İzmir’s Torbalı district. 

There is a standing arrest warrant for the company’s owner Ramazan Davulcuoğlu and his brothers Durmuş Ali, Mesut Davulcuoğlu and Şaban Davulcuoğlu, who are currently on the run, security officials said.

Officials from the Turkey’s Saving Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF) reportedly held a meeting with the company’s 600 employees after the appointment of the trustees and told them that there would not be layoffs.

The Turkish authorities have seized hundreds of businesses as part of the probe into the failed July 15 military coup attempt, issuing detention orders for dozens of businesspeople, some of whom have been arrested. 

The authorities then said 4,262 companies and institutions had been shut over alleged ties to the Gülen network.