Four senior executives of Boydak Holding detained in Gülen-linked probe

KAYSERİ

DHA Photo

Turkish police have detained four senior executives of Boydak Holding over allegations of financing the group of U.S.-based scholar Fethullah Gülen, a former government ally now considered the head of the “Fethullahist Terror Organization” (FETÖ).Police detained Memduh Boydak, the general manager of Boydak Holding, as well as the group’s chairman, Hacı Boydak, and board members Erol Boydak and Murat Bozdağ at 7:30 a.m. on March 4 in a morning raid on their houses.The company headquarters at the organized industrial site in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri were also searched, as the financial records and computer hard disks of the conglomerate, active in 12 sectors from furniture to cables, were seized by police.Reuters reported that nobody from the company, based in Kayseri, was immediately available for comment.Memduh Boydak, also an executive board member of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), was previously detained in September 2015 in another Gülen-linked operation alongside 10 other people. The detainees included executives of a group of companies and university officials.Gülen has long been accused by leading Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmakers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his inner circle of forming and heading a terrorist organization to topple the Turkish government through insiders at the police and other state institutions.Turkey’s top business organization released a statement later on March 4, expressing sorrow over the detainment of Memduh Boydak, a Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) board member.“Due to our trust in democracy and the supremacy of law, we believe the legal process will be completed as soon as possible and Mr. Boydak will return to his duties,” the statement said, while highlighting the importance of accountability.“No persons or individuals, including businesspeople, are exempt from audits or investigations,” it added.