New law broadens Turkish state authority to appoint trustees to companies

ANKARA

A new state of emergency decree law gives the government the authority to appoint trustees in place of minority shareholders on boards of companies not suspected of being controlled by the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. 

The decree released late on Oct. 29 said judges or courts can decide to appoint trustees to the boards of such companies to represent the shares owned by “natural or legal persons linked to or in contacts with the FETÖ/PDY terror organization.”  

FETÖ/PDY stands for the “Fethullahist Terror Organization” and “Parallel State Structure,” used by prosecutors and the government to refer to the followers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, believed to be behind the deadly July 15 coup attempt.

With previous decree laws, the government seized dozens of companies over links to the Gülenists, replacing entire boards with appointed trustees.

The latest decree also strips several monetary responsibilities from trustees appointed to the boards of companies, media outlets and distribution channels later closed for terror links or activities against state security.

The exemptions include public debts, debts to the social security body, and payments to employees. These trustees will also be stripped of responsibilities in the Collection Procedure of Public Receivables code and the tax code. 

The decree exempts banks and other financial bodies from criminal liability for providing finance to Gülenists in cases that have not been notified by the Finance Ministry.