London's high court rules Turkey has no rights over UK's assets at Koza Holding

Reuters - 22 December 2016, Thursday

London's high court ruled Turkey had no rights over British assets that are part of the Koza İpek media and mining conglomerate, in a victory for exiled Turkish businessman Akın İpek, whose businesses have been seized by the state.

Turkish authorities have taken control of hundreds of companies, including Istanbul-listed gold mining company Koza Altın which was placed in receivership in October 2015, for alleged links to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen.

U.S.-based Gülen was once an ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and his AK Party but relations soured from 2013. Ankara accused Gülen's network of followers of orchestrating an attempted coup in July and branded it a terrorist organization.

Gülen has denied accusations he played a role in the attempted coup and said he condemned it in the strongest terms.

Following the court judgment handed down on Wednesday, London-based İpek, said in an email to Reuters he was "very happy to see justice".

"There have been many crazy slanders and accusations about me and my companies. The latest court decision in the UK is one fruit of an honestly lived life," he said.

Koza Altın's trustees said they are seeking the removal of İpek, as a director of Koza Ltd, a British subsidiary set up in March 2014, and to prevent him from deciding what to do with some 60 million pounds ($73.77 million) of shareholders' capital held by Koza Ltd.

Court documents seen by Reuters showed a judge in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice found Turkish trustees had no authority over British-based assets. Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment.

The judge also ruled that the approximately 60 million pounds could be transferred to accounts managed by Hanson Asset Management, which could allow the British subsidiary to get a higher return on its capital.

Hanson Asset Management was not available for comment.

A spokesman for Koza Altın said it was confident of its case and expected further legal action. No-one from Mischon de Reya, the lawyers that represented the Turkish trustees, was available for comment.

The rift between Gülen and Erdoğan escalated when Gülen's network was blamed for a corruption probe in late 2013 which implicated members of Erdogan's family and government.

In the most high-profile clamp down on a Gülen-related company, lender Bank Asya, which was founded by the cleric's followers, was seized, and its operating rights eventually canceled when no buyer could be found for the tainted asset.

İpek's family business Ipek Holding has a 25 percent stake in Koza Altın.

The share price of Koza Altın, which counts the Vanguard Group and Schroeder Investment management among its shareholders according to Reuters data, has been volatile as political events have unfolded.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-kozaipek-court-idUSKBN14B28I