UK seizes passport of Gülenist tycoon wanted by Turkey
THE PASSPORT of Hamdi Akın İpek, who is sought by Turkish authorities for his links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), was seized by British authorities yesterday. A U.K. court has also ordered for the fugitive businessman’s phone to be reachable at all times.
A U.K. COURT put fugitive businessman Hamdi Akın İpek, who is sought by Turkey for his suspected links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), on police bail yesterday and ordered him to stay at his current address in London while legal proceedings are underway.
The authorities also seized the FETÖ suspect’s passport, as a preventative measure to stop him from leaving the country and restrict his movements while the investigation is underway. The court also ordered that his phone be reachable at all times.
İpek was captured in May but was later released by the court on bail of 50,000 pounds ($65,000). The court order comes after the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court filed an extradition request for İpek in June. Following an examination of procedures, the London court found that the request submitted by the Turkish Justice Ministry complied with British law. The U.K. Foreign Secretary’s office then referred the extradition request to the judiciary. The court will give its final verdict on İpek’s extradition after a four-day trial in September. The former Koza Holding head was previously spotted in London, visiting his offices in the city’s financial districts, The City and Gray’s Inn Road. He also uses his office in Temple, in the heart of the city legal district, as his headquarters.
In a previous case, the English High Court rejected İpek’s wish to use up to 3 million pounds of U.K. subsidiary Koza Ltd’s money to fund his personal legal expenses in Turkey after an “essential artificiality” was found in the transaction papers of the company. İpek’s U.K. based private company Koza Ltd reportedly possesses over 60 million pounds and is considered one of the main financial backers of FETÖ. He is currently sought by Turkish authorities for “managing a terror group, financing terrorism, embezzlement and making propaganda for a terror group.” İpek left Turkey prior to the seizure of Koza Holding by court order in October 2015. He lost lawsuits he filed in U.K. courts for return of his assets seized by Turkey. İpek’s brother Cafer and mother Melek are among 45 defendants currently on trial in Turkey for FETÖ links with his business conglomerate.
Akın İpek, who studied business in the United Kingdom, inherited a printing business from his father and in the 2000s, his business empire considerably expanded - with some critics tying it to his links to FETÖ - and branched into the mining sector with a gold mine in western Turkey. He made a foray into media by buying Bugün newspaper in 2005. It was followed by more media purchases, including Kanaltürk TV and establishment of Bugün TV. Newspaper and TVs were wellknown mouthpieces of FETÖ before Turkey moved to shut them down.