Gov’t media maintain attack on Bank Asya

Bank Asya headquarters is pictured in İstanbul on Feb. 4. (Photo: Reuters)
Bank Asya headquarters is pictured in İstanbul on Feb. 4. (Photo: Reuters)


Date posted: July 21, 2015

In yet another allegation targeted at Turkey’s largest Islamic lender, Turkey’s pro-government media continued a smear campaign against Bank Asya, the lender’s shareholders said on Sunday, reiterating that the bank operated fully in line with laws.

Turkish daily Yeni Akit, with close links to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reported on Sunday that Bank Asya extended loans to certain Turkish-owned companies abroad and failed to collect these loan debts.

The same daily also alleged that Asya was made to post losses due to these non-performing loans. A group of Asya shareholders denied allegations on Sunday, referring to the claims as “slander.”

“All of Bank Asya loan traffic inside and outside of Turkey is monitored by the Finance Ministry’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board [MASAK]. … There is not a single incident where Bank Asya sustained losses due to a loan extended and all of these loans have been paid back to the bank,” the shareholders said in Sunday’s written statement.

After a three-month period of interim management, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) announced in late May that it had handed over control of Bank Asya to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) in what many political commentators consider a politically motivated move.

Bank Asya was founded by sympathizers of the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement — a civil society initiative inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Gülen has been accused of being the leader of a hidden structure within the government which, according to many in the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), attempted to launch a coup against the government when sweeping bribery investigations implicated several Cabinet ministers in 2013. The movement has strongly denied the accusations.

Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has last week confirmed that the seizure of Islamic lender Bank Asya is an example of the severity of political risks in Turkey, which could affect the country’s whole financial system.

Source: Today's Zaman , July 19, 2015

Tags: | | | |


Related News

‘Don’t link Thai schools with terrorists’

Thailand’s foreign ministry has cautioned against any rush to link four Thailand-based schools to a terrorist organization just because they have a handful of foreign shareholders. “We have been in touch with the embassy to request legally recognised and reliable evidence. But we have not received any additional information to date,” Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee, said yesterday.

Erdoğan’s way: scare, divide and rule

The last straw [man] by Erdoğan came this week when a draft version of a law seeking the closure of all kinds of privately established prep schools (dershanes) leaked to the media. The bill is so drastic that even private tutoring for kids at homes by parents is banned. The intrusive move is seen as a huge blow to free enterprise and the right to education, prompting concerns that the closure of these schools will block upward mobility in Turkish society.

Deputy PM denies profiling of citizens in gov’t, private sector

Sending messages on New Year’s Eve on his Twitter account, Parliament’s Constitutional Commission head and AK Party deputy Burhan Kuzu claimed that “an intelligence report that was submitted to the prime minister detailed a parallel structure within state,” adding that some 2,000 people’s names are listed in that report.

Hatred-inciting discourses and the debate on ‘genocide and crime against humanity’

Speaking to reporters on April 29 during his return from an official visit to Kuwait, President Erdoğan made these much-debated remarks: “Those belonging to this organization [Hizmet movement], from top to bottom, should certainly pay a price. They will either respect state authority or WILL PERISH.”

Report: Turkey Mulling Attack On Fethullah Gulen

Turkish security services have reportedly been planning an attack on U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric suspected of masterminding the July 15 coup plot, a number of sources confirmed. The source said a Turkish intelligence unit in the U.S. had been monitoring the Gulen’s compound for several weeks and that the security was easy to breach.

Leak deepens AKP-Gulen rift

Tulin Daloglu The rift between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the prestigious Fethullah Gulen religious movement hit the surface last week. On Nov. 28, Mehmet Baransu of Taraf published a copy of a National Security Council (NSC) advisory ruling under the headline: “Measures needed to be taken to counter activities by the Fethullah Gulen group.” In January […]

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Turkey’s largest religious publication group denied spot at Ramadan book fair

Turkish school sacrifices over 150 cows for Eidil Adha

Prosecutor’s office launches investigation into Şahin’s claim

Raindrop Turkish House Featured in New York Times

‘A very good representative of the best in Islam, Hizmet contributes to the non-Muslim world’s understanding of Islam’

Senegalese PM Addresses Gulen Movement Conference in Dakar

4th Legislative Reception in Richmond

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News