Alleged Gülenist financiers face further crackdown


Police raided headquarters of another business conglomerate on Tuesday, as authorities look to cut off financial support to the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ).The offices of Naksan Holding, which owns energy, textile and logistics companies, were stormed by squads from the Turkish National Police's Smuggling and Organized Crime Department. Four employees of the corporation, based in the southern city of Gaziantep, were detained on charges of funding FETÖ, while police seized documents, computers and hard drives found in the offices. The suspects remain in police custody while questioning continues.Naksan has recently distanced itself from Gülenists with whom it once maintained close ties, following a police raid last year on the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON). TUSKON is an umbrella group of local commerce federations linked to the Gülen Movement, from which FETÖ originated.FETÖ is accused of two attempts to topple the government in 2013, along with a series of wrongdoings, ranging from illegal wiretapping to money laundering. The group's immense clout in Turkey, where it allegedly has infiltrators within the police, judiciary and bureaucracy, helped their evolution from a simple religious group into an ambitious organization with political motives. Prosecutors say FETÖ draws its financial clout from businesspeople across the country devoted to Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based head of Gülen Movement and prime suspect in FETÖ cases, as alleged leader of the terrorist organization.Companies and businesspeople linked to Gülenists face charges of funding the group through "himmet," a name given to "charity donations" to nonprofit organizations run by Gülenists. Prosecutors claim these organizations are merely a front to funnel money for FETÖ's illegal deeds.Last week, two senior executives of Boydak Holding, another prominent business conglomerate based in the Anatolian heartland, were arrested on charges of financing FETÖ. Hacı Boydak and Memduh Boydak are accused of collecting money from subcontractors of their companies, as well as personally financing Gülenists. Two brothers were transferred to a prison in Ankara yesterday, awaiting trial.The Gülen Movement has seen members and sympathizers purged from state institutions, police and judiciary, and was designated by authorities as "a national threat," a classification for terrorist organizations. A string of judicial inquiries over the past two years has revealed the seedy side of the movement, promoting itself as a charity group which simply runs schools and working for interfaith dialogue. Gülenists are accused of illegally wiretapping thousands of people, from the prime minister to journalists and prominent figures. They are also accused of imprisoning critics, or anyone seen as an obstacle to the movement's attempts to gain further clout, through sham trials. Hundreds of generals, academics and dignitaries were detained for years, in cases where they were accused of staging coups. It was later revealed they were detained on charges based on false evidence planted by Gülenist members of law enforcement.