Istanbul prosecutors ordered the seizure of Can Holding and 121 affiliated companies and appointed the state Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as trustee in a probe into alleged organized crime, money laundering, tax evasion and related offences. Detention orders were issued for 10 suspects. The case is being run by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, with the Istanbul Gendarmerie executing raids—an unusual choice in a city where police typically lead such operations.
According to initial statements summarized by officials and media, Turkey’s financial crimes unit examined Can Holding’s records and alleged the group illegally obtained funds and used complex intra-group transactions to disguise their origin while evading tax rules. The prosecutor’s office has framed the case as a financial-crimes investigation grounded in MASAK analyses and other oversight reports. Reuters
The order places some of Turkey’s most-watched broadcasters under a state-appointed trustee. Can Holding’s media portfolio includes Habertürk TV, Show TV and Bloomberg HT—assets acquired from Ciner Group in late 2024. Habertürk acknowledged the development on air: morning anchor Mesut Yar told viewers that TMSF had taken control of companies that include the channel’s owner, adding he had no further details at the time.
Education regulators moved quickly to reassure students and parents. The Higher Education Council (YÖK) said academic operations at Istanbul Bilgi University would continue without interruption, and the Education Ministry (MEB) issued a similar statement for the Doğa Koleji school network. Both emphasized there was no cause for concern for students, faculty, or staff.
The case lands against a broader policy backdrop. Turkey ran several rounds of “Asset Peace” (Varlık Barışı) measures that allowed funds held abroad to be declared domestically with light scrutiny and low taxes; the last iteration accepted declarations until March 31, 2023. While opposition parties long criticized the schemes as permissive, the government’s post-election shift to more orthodox economic policy culminated in Turkey’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list on June 28, 2024, following AML/CFT reforms.
Can Holding’s recent deal-making has already drawn regulatory scrutiny. Beyond its 2024 media purchase from Ciner, the conglomerate faced a June 2025 Competition Board penalty—about TRY 10.9 million—for “gun-jumping” in an attempted stake acquisition in Tekfen Holding, with the regulator stressing that any change in control would be legally ineffective without prior approval.
In the near term, attention will focus on TMSF’s stewardship and whether broadcasting and academic calendars continue smoothly under a trustee model, as authorities have pledged. The takeover of three national TV brands by a court-appointed manager is also likely to intensify debate over media independence and the practical reach of Turkey’s financial-crimes enforcement architecture after its FATF upgrade.
