Saving Deposits Insurance Fund

Istanbul police have launched an operation to detain 78 former employees of the now-closed Bank Asya, including the lender's top executives, as part of a probe launched by Istanbul prosecutors into the network of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

Some 42 of the suspects were detained on June 16, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump's choice to lead the FBI is a white-collar defense lawyer with a strong law enforcement background. But in Turkey the nomination of Christopher Wray has raised eyebrows, with Turkish media reporting his previous involvement in helping Bank Asya, linked to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, open its gates to international markets. 

The asset volume of companies seized by the state has surpassed 40.5 billion Turkish Liras ($11.1 billion), Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli has said, adding that the state fund in charge of running these companies has become "one of the largest business holdings in the country."

More than 800 companies with total revenue of 30 billion liras have been seized by the Turkish state, mainly in probes related to the July 15 coup attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli has said, adding that "most of these companies' financials have seen a rebound since being taken over."

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.

Turkey's Saving Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF) has probed more than 1.6 million bank accounts so far over demands from a number public institutions wanting to learn whether any of their employees had an account with Bank Asya, seized by the state over its links with the Gülen movement, which was believed to be the mastermind behind the failed July 15 coup attempt. 

A total of 18 companies under Koza-İpek Holding have been brought under the control of Turkey's state fund, in line with the investigation into the failed July 15 coup attempt, daily Habertürk reported on Sept. 9. 

Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said companies seized as part of the probe into the failed coup attempt create a serious risk for the banking sector of up to 5 billion Turkish Liras ($1.7 billion), but their administration by the state minimized the risks.