Turkey revokes the licence of a director at one of the country’s largest brokerage firms
Turkey’s financial regulator has cancelled the licence of a research director at one of the country’s largest brokerage firms after his report on the failed July 15 coup.
In a bulletin on its website, the Capital Markets Board (CMB) said the licence of AK Investment’s Mert Ulker had been revoked because he did not “fulfil his responsibilities” in the preparation and publication of the report on July 18.
The head of research at the Istanbul-based brokerage arm of one of Turkey’s largest banks, Ulker will be unable to work in Turkey’s capital markets without the CMB licence.
The cancellation makes him the first worker within the private financial sector to be affected by the post-putsch crackdown.
Ulker could also face charges under parts of the penal code which make insulting the president, state institutions and the Turkish republic a crime, the regular bulletin said on Tuesday.
The strategist’s report had come under attack on Sunday by a pro-government newspaper, Sabah, which accused the report of being “dark propaganda”.
The newspaper criticised Ulker for speculating over who was behind the coup, including an allegation that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had some awareness of what was going on.
Sabah also criticised the analyst for citing a claim that Erdogan intended to use the failed coup to clean opposition elements within the military and strengthen his control of the country.
According to Interior Minister Efkan Ala on Wednesday, 15,846 people have been detained — including more than 10,000 soldiers — with a total of 8,113 people now remanded in custody.
Despite international criticism over the crackdown, the government has insisted that all suspects will be given a fair hearing and all those who are innocent will be set free.
The crackdown against coup-plotters has widened in recent days to include journalists, judges, prosecutors and thousands of civil servants who have been suspended or removed from their jobs.
US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen is accused by Ankara of “masterminding” coup with the help of his supporters within the state and military. Gulen strongly denies this.
Source: Times of India
