Can Holdings, a holding company that owns one of Turkey’s last remaining independent broadcasters, was on September 11 announced as under government seizure.

The Istanbul-based owner of the Haberturk, Show TV and Bloomberg HT television channels is the subject of an investigation into money laundering, tax evasion and organised crime, Turkish prosecutors said. Its businesses have been transferred to the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, or TMSF, state-run news service Anadolu Agency reported. bne IntelliNews has written copiously about the activities of the “acquisitive” TMSF performed in parallel with what critics say is an effort by Turkey’s ruling regime to shut down any meaningful opposition to its rule.

Prosecutors seized 121 companies in all that belong to Can Holdings. The enterprises range across sectors including media, education, energy, hotels, construction and logistics. Arrest warrants were activated for 10 people, including senior Can Holding executives.

Istanbul's Kucukcekmece prosecutor's office alleged in a statement that an organised crime ring was established by Can Holding owners Mehmet Sakir Can and Kemal Can.

In a statement quoted by the Financial Times, state prosecutors said Can Holdings companies were involved in fraud, tax evasion and “introducing income from unknown sources into company accounts, and laundering the proceeds of crime”.

The Erdogan administration already controls around 90% of the national media.

“This is part of the broader, 360 degree clampdown by the government that has been going on for many years,” Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo, a consultancy, was cited as saying by the FT. “It comes at a particularly interesting time when everything seems to be happening at the same moment: the economy is not doing well, there is a sustained crackdown on the opposition, and the government is trying to raise funds.”

Piccoli was further reported as saying: “The bottom line for media organisations in Turkey is that the government is leaving those media outlets it doesn’t consider ‘friendly’ with two options: get transferred to TMSF, or face penalties from the media watchdog.”

Bloomberg HT TV operates in Turkey under a licensing agreement with Bloomberg LP, the parent company that stands behind Bloomberg News. 

Can Holding acquired Show TV and Bloomberg HT from Turkey's Ciner Group late last year.

It also owns Istanbul Bilgi University and private schools franchise Doga Koleji and has shares in Istanbul-listed construction group Tekfen Holding.

Action against Istanbul Bar Association

As well as coming under fire for its latest moves against the opposition and independent media, the Erdogan administration was this week heavily criticised for criminal and civil proceedings brought against the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association.

The action was incompatible with Turkey’s international human rights obligations and represented a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), along with 11 other legal and human rights organisations, said in a joint intervention submitted to Istanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court on September 5.

The second hearing on the case, scheduled to last two days, began on September 9, IBAHRI said in a press release.

The legal action, it added, targets the Istanbul Bar Association’s president, Ibrahim Kaboglu, along with 10 executive board members. It stems from a public statement issued by the Bar on 21 December 2024 in the wake of the deaths of two Kurdish journalists, Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin. They were allegedly killed in a drone strike in northern Syria.

In its statement, the Istanbul Bar Association spoke of international legal protections that must be provided to journalists in conflict zones, called for an effective investigation into the deaths and demanded the release of protesters and lawyers detained at a demonstration held in Istanbul that same day.

In response, said IBAHRI, prosecutors in Turkey launched criminal proceedings against the Istanbul Bar Association’s leadership for “propaganda for a terrorist organisation” and “disseminating misleading information”.

Prosecutors, it added, simultaneously filed a civil lawsuit seeking to dismiss the board on the grounds that it had acted beyond its legal duties.

On March 21, the Istanbul 2nd Civil Court of First Instance ruled for the termination of the entire board’s mandate, with the decision currently under appeal.

IBAHRI director Helena Kennedy commented: “The Istanbul Bar’s statement was well within its statutory duties and its internationally protected role. To criminalise such a statement is both legally indefensible and politically alarming.”