Businessmen coerced into 'donations' by FETÖ

The latest indictment against FETÖ, prepared by the Kayseri Prosecutor's Office, outlines the intricate financial manipulations directed against local businessmen to fill the cult's coffers

Witness testimonies included in the indictment into the Gülenist Terror Group's (FETÖ) activities in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri show that the town acted as the cult's main money laundering center for transfers abroad and that local businessmen were under serious pressure to give money to the group.

Testimonies revealed that FETÖ brooked no dissent when it came to businessmen it saw as potential contributors and any who questioned the way the money was spent or those who were in financial straits would be pushed out.

It is well known that FETÖ, responsible for the July 15 military coup attempt, has financed its illicit operations through a murky network of collection agents, with businessmen and followers forced to hand over a substantial portion of their income, which would later be transferred abroad through various money laundering activities.

The indictment prepared by the Kayseri Prosecutors Office shows that FETÖ operatives in various state agencies, especially those working for the tax department, used their authority to impose tax fines based on spurious claims to force businessmen to donate to the cult, erasing the fine as soon as the required donation was paid.

Some businessmen were forced to provide scholarships to students, who had no idea about the money deposited to bank accounts in their names. The money in these accounts would later be transferred abroad to be used for illegal FETÖ activities. The group is also known to have used its charter schools network in the U.S. to channel federal funds to its affiliated companies.

The Kayseri indictment charges 68 suspects, including businessmen Hacı, Memduh and Şükrü Soydak brothers, Hamdi Kınaş and Halit Gazeoğlu, former Higher Education Board (YÖK) Chairman Ali Demir and the provincial head of FETÖ, Sıtkı Baş.

One businessman who came forward during the investigations, identified only with his initials Ö.F.B., said he started to attend FETÖ meetings in the early 2000s. "When I told them I couldn't contribute to the building of a mosque, they pushed me out. At the time I was a wholesale gold trader with an annual turnover of TL 18 million [$5.794 million]. After I got estranged from the group, my brother-in-law was charged with gold smuggling."

All the gold in his and his brother-in-law's offices was seized before being returned after an investigation, he said, only to be put in jail for two days for keeping too much ammunition at his home. "I was also charged with human, animal and arms trafficking. I was found not guilty. Later my brother-in-law was fined TL 12 million in taxes, only to be told to provide 50 scholarships if he wanted the fine to disappear."

FETÖ, through its arms in the media, education, judiciary, police and various state institutions, was able to force uncooperative businessmen to donate to its group. The Zaman newspaper was FETÖ's main arm within the media.

Another witness, S.Ö., said he had participated in some FETÖ meetings, describing the conversations as superficially religious, with the main focus being scholarships and donations. "All those in attendance would be asked to become subscribers to Zaman. When I told them I would ask for a single subscription, they said I had to pay for at least 10, which would be distributed to others by them. At every meeting, they would ask us to donate what we could."

He said Halit Hazezoğlu visited him in 2011 or 2012 to ask for him to build a dormitory, which was one of the main tools of FETÖ to brainwash students. "I asked him how he could ask me to do such an expensive project, which I could hardly afford. He then told me to donate TL 500,000. When I objected, they started bargaining and eventually agreed to a contribution of TL 50,000. After this, I never met or talked with anyone from the group."

One witness, code named "Ayaz" in the indictment, worked as an accountant at the office of one suspect, Mehmet Fındık, between 1993 and 2010. He told the prosecutor that he had personally witnessed and taken part in the collection and distribution of the questions asked in the 1993 Police Academy admittance examination.

He said Fındık had great influence over the Kayseri Police Department. "In 2009, Hamdi Kınaş was fined to the tune of TL 1,250,000 for tax arrears. He contacted Fındık, who through the people he knew at the Finance Ministry, cut the fine down to TL 250,000. Kınaş in exchange agreed to donate around TL 400,000 to the Gülen Movement."

The witness also testified that Kayseri acted as the focal point of FETÖ's money laundering operations within Turkey. "All municipal and provincial heads of FETÖ transferred the donations they collected to Necmi Somtaş's office. Eighty percent of all FETÖ expenses went through Somtaş, who acted as the treasurer of the group. The entire financial hierarchy of FETÖ resides in Kayseri. All the transfers to FETÖ schools abroad are done from Kayseri, especially the Kayseri offices of Bank Asya."

Bank Asya, the banking arm of FETÖ, was shut down due to financial irregularities after the July 15 coup attempt

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