Suspected FETÖ bankroller Çıkmaz returned to Turkey from Sudan by Turkish intel operation
ANKARA
A businessman known as the “money vault” of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) has been returned to Turkey, a security official said on Nov. 27.
Memduh Çıkmaz, who is said to have bankrolled the group behind last year’s defeated coup, was returned to Turkey from Sudan in a joint operation between the two countries’ intelligence agencies.
The official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) pinpointed Çıkmaz’s location two months ago.
The agency operates a team of specialists to track down FETÖ members who have fled abroad.
It was unclear exactly when he had been arrested but Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services are believed to have assisted in his arrest and repatriation.
Çıkmaz, said to be a senior FETÖ figure with interests in petrol retail and brick production, arrived in Turkey early on the morning of Nov. 27.
The native of the central Anatolian province of Çorum, left for Sudan in January 2016.
The security official said Çıkmaz had transferred millions of dollars to FETÖ from Sudan.
Turkey accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
