Artificial intelligence-based fortune-telling apps Faladdin and Binnaz have been seized by the Turkish state, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said on July 16.

The prosecutors did not provide a specific reason for the seizing of the apps such as illegal betting, money laundering or association with an illegal organisation.

The press release on the seizures suggests that Sertac Tasdelen, owner of the apps in question, earned money via online fortune-telling activities and transferred money abroad.

Turkey’s unique approach to law

According to government trolls who busy themselves with the online space, fortune-telling is a crime. The problem is that the crime was defined by legislation introduced in 1925 to shut down religious monasteries and ban religious communities. The legislation is titled "Tekke ve Zaviyeler Kanunu".

Whether this law is still in effect is questionable. The country and Turkish state are these days not short of religious communities. So perhaps, Faladdin’s problem is not related to failing to comply with the 100-year-old law.

Faladdin was launched in 2017, while Binnaz was launched in 2011. It has taken more than a decade for the prosecutors to identify the apparent criminal activity.

Turkey has an interesting approach to law. Some laws remain de jure but are not de facto in effect. Some laws sometimes apply to some people but at the same time never apply to others.

TMSF goes to work on retailers, influencers, a pastry chain and doner kebab outlets

On July 15, Turkey’s deposit insurance fund TMSF said that it had taken over the management of retail chains Hakmar, Hakmar Express and Tatbak under the scope of a prosecution of Gulenism.

Hakmar has around 800 shops. Tatbak has approximately 80.

On July 9, the TMSF said that it transferred the management of companies owned by the Dilan and Engin Polat couple to the couple. The TMSF, it said, would only act as the auditing trustee at the companies.

The couple referred to here are social media influencers who were arrested over money laundering charges. Interestingly, they are now free and have taken back their companies.

In May, police raided a pastry chain, namely Antiochia Kunefe. No news of a seizure has followed.

Also in May, a doner kebab chain, namely Kral Doner, was raided over its links to Maydanoz Doner, which was seized in March under a Gulenism prosecution. No seizure news on Kral has followed.

Business as usual

Since 2002, Turkey’s government has used TMSF as a tool for wealth transfer.

As of July 16, TMSF had established management over 815 companies. Additionally, it controlled stakes in 73 companies as well as the personal assets of 93 real persons as of end-2024.

Three companies held by TMSF are currently on sale.

In July 2024, Fatin Rustu Karakas, head of the deposit insurance fund, said that TMSF had seized 1,371 companies over links to the Gulenist clan since it allegedly orchestrated a military coup attempt against the Erdogan administration on July 15, 2016.

The operation against the Gulenists is neverending. However, in the targeting of the doner and pastry chain owners, no-one was mentioned as a claimed member of the political arm of the Gulenists.

Between 2002 and 2013, the Gulenists were among the stakeholders in the Erdogan administration.

The Imamoglu wave

In February, TMSF was appointed as a state trustee over fast food chain Maydanoz Doner in relation to a prosecution aimed at Gulenists. The case brought the first company seizure in a while.

In March, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office seized 23 companies owned by Erkan Kork as part of a prosecution aimed at illegal sports betting.

Bankpozitif, a lender, and TV channel Flash TV, along with fintech companies Payfix, Aypara (iPara) and Ininal were among the seized companies.

Also in March, Imamoglu Insaat, owned by jailed Istanbul mayor and chief rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu, and his family, was seized via a court order issued at the request of the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office.

Since then, more companies have been seized as part of the operation aimed at Imamoglu and more businessmen have been arrested.

On June 28, government-run news service Anadolu Agency reported that 52 companies had so far been seized and subjected to trustee appointments under the corruption prosecution targeting Imamoglu.

Three arms 

The new wave of company seizures launched with Maydanoz in February has seen seizures executed via three arms, namely the Imamoglu operation, an illegal betting operation and the Gulenist operation.

Suleymanist companies on the agenda?

As things stand, the Faladdin case looks like something of an outlier. However, if a new window is opened to seize companies under the mentioned "Tekke ve Zaviyeler Kanunu", the first religious community to be targeted may be the Suleymanists.

No PKK arm anymore

Separately, opposition-run municipalities have been seized.

Prior to February, when the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkey’s ruling regime announced a collaboration, municipalities were seized as part of an operation against the PKK. Since March, municipality seizures have been executed as part of the Imamoglu operation.

TMSF becomes biggest fintech operator in country

In May, the TMSF took over the management of local fintech Papara. Currently, the TMSF is the dominant player in Turkey’s fintech industry. It holds two active units in addition to two suspended units.