The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office (@istanbulCBS) on June 12 launched a sweeping corporate raid against Turkey’s poultry sector. Twenty nine executives were detained, while 13 companies were seized and placed under state trusteeships.

The operation, targeting companies across eight provinces (Ankara, Balikesir, Bursa, Bolu, Izmir, Usak, Samsun and Istanbul), targets alleged price-fixing, anti-competitive behaviour and artificial price hikes in the white meat market.

Gurlek's pecking order

Turkey’s justice minister, Akin Gurlek (@abakingurlek), commented on the synchronised crackdown in a tweet, noting that the state would move decisively against actors accused of “disrupting market mechanisms” and driving up the cost of living for ordinary citizens.

“Ensuring our citizens have access to basic food products under fair, safe, and reasonable conditions alongside protecting consumer rights is among our highest priorities. In line with this objective, our ministries of justice, interior, trade and finance are acting in coordination and harmony,” the minister also noted.

Cheap chicken meat a must

Turks do not eat pork. Thus, cheap chicken meat is a must in the country as affordable access to red meat is not easy for ordinary people since prices stand at among the highest in the world. That has been the case for a few decades. Some critics blame long-term damage caused to the agriculture and husbandry sectors by neoliberal economic policies.

The minister said that detention orders were actually issued for 32 suspects, with his statement indicating that three were missing.

Gurlek thanked the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office for meticulously conducting the investigation, the Istanbul provincial police department for executing the operations and officials of the competition board, the directorate general of market surveillance and inspection and the financial crimes investigation board (MASAK). All, he said, made valuable contributions during the required process.

Never seen before: state has seized almost whole sector

Turkey’s government regularly seizes companies. However, the seizure of a bunch of companies with a combined market share of around 80% in their sector, via a single operation conducted within a few hours, is something new.

The company ownerships have not, however, been transferred to the country’s deposit insurance fund TMSF, which conducts company seizure operations. Rather, the court has appointed state supervisory trustees to the boards of the companies.

Not cooped up for long

On June 14, local media reports suggested that all of the 29 suspects who were detained two days previously had been released on probation by a court within the Istanbul Caglayan courthouse on the European side of the city. They will be subject to judicial control.

Turkey’s judiciary is generally criticised for its pre-trial detention habit. In this case, high-ranking businessmen have been released after spending just two days at a police station.

Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, meanwhile, arrested in March last year, remains in custody as his trial proceeds with prosecutors citing flight risk and the risk of tampering with evidence.

It was Gurlek who launched the ongoing operations targeting the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), while he was serving as the Istanbul chief public prosecutor. The crackdown has widened since he was appointed justice minister in February.

Some observers see an ostentatious targeting of the rich as well as open supporters of the government in response to the criticism made of officials for targeting the opposition.

Set for a grilling

The list of the 13 seized companies is as follows:

• Banvit (BANVT), listed on Borsa Istanbul, majority owned by BRF (Sao Paulo/BRFS3) and Qatar Holding LLC (a unit of Qatar Investment Authority/QIA) since 2017
• Senpilic Gida
• Erpilic
• Lezita
• Keskinoglu
• Hastavuk
• Akpilic
• Bakpilic
• Aspilic
• Bupilic
• Gedik Pazarlama
• Orvital
• Aypi

The list of more prominent detainees whose names have been mentioned in media reports are as follows:

• Banvit CEO Tolga Gunduz
• Akpilic chairman Mustafa Fahrettin Aksoy
• Bakpilic co-owner Bahattin Bak
• Aspilic chairman Galip Yesilbas
• Orvital chairman Batuhan Tiryakioglu
• Lezita board member Ergun Abalioglu
• Keskinoglu board member Ozer Matli
• Lezita deputy general manager Muammer Harmanci
• Senpilic finance director Zeynep Cicek
• Gedik Pazarlama marketing director Nihat Ozbey

On June 12, Banvit said in a stock exchange filing that its operations were being conducted within the framework of its legal obligations.