The story of Murat Sancak
Healthcare, media, public tenders, land allocated by presidential decree, and football... Murat Sancak's rise and fall exemplify the type of ‘politically connected capital’ created during the AKP era. This multi-layered network, built through healthcare, media and sports, opens the door to questioning not just one person, but an entire era.
Murat Sancak's arrest yesterday is not just the result of a ‘betting and money laundering’ case. This arrest reveals one of the most typical examples of the capital system built by the AKP during its more than 20 years in power.
Healthcare, media, public tenders, land allocated by presidential decree, and football... Sancak's rise offers a cautionary tale of how privileged relationships with those in power gradually translate into wealth.
Born in 1968 in the Tillo district of Siirt, Murat Sancak's business journey began in the early years of the AKP's rule in the healthcare and technology sectors.
Sancak, who founded MT Health Products and then MT Group in the mid-2000s, soon began operating in areas directly subject to state regulation, such as medical products, incontinence pads, and new-generation POS systems. A common feature of these sectors is that they are determined by public regulations and the Social Security Institution (SGK) budget.
This choice shows that Sancak's capital journey was not based on chance, but on the opportunities offered by the political climate.
FAMILY TIES, POWER TIES
Murat Sancak's rise cannot be understood independently of Ethem Sancak, who was once very close to the AKP. The two figures, who share the same capital pool through family ties, represent different branches of the AKP era's ‘loyal capital’ model.
Ethem Sancak became the owner of the TürkMedya group by acquiring media assets such as Akşam, Güneş, SkyTürk360 and 360 TV, which had been seized by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), and also attained a political position that extended to membership of the AKP's Central Executive Committee.
This sphere of influence, shaped by the defence industry, media and public tenders, became one of the main channels that paved the way for his nephew, Murat Sancak. Murat Sancak's real leap forward during the AKP era came through Maxicells İlaç Sanayi A.Ş.
In 2017, protocols signed between the Social Security Institution (SGK), the Ministry of Health, and the Red Crescent transferred the authority to produce drugs from blood plasma to Maxicells.
These contracts were not merely technical tenders; they effectively amounted to a 12-year purchase guarantee. In other words, the state was handing over a vital area like blood to a single private company, while also securing its profits for years to come. The Turkish Pharmacists' Association and many professional organisations strongly criticised this process for lacking transparency and being closed to competition.
The central question of the criticism was: How did a company with limited experience in this field come to be at the centre of Turkey's blood and plasma policy?
AGRICULTURAL LAND WITH ERDOĞAN'S SIGNATURE
The most striking part of the file emerged with the Official Gazette decision dated 4 December 2020. A 172,000 square metre first-class agricultural land in Kavaklı, Silivri, İstanbul, was allocated to Maxicells as an ‘individual investment site’ with President Erdoğan's signature.
It emerged that the land was sold at a price far below market value, almost at one-thousandth of its price. The CHP and local administrators openly described this decision as a ‘giveaway.’ Moreover, even years after the allocation, it was repeatedly brought to the fore that the factory had not fully started production and that the blood collection infrastructure had not been established.
So, on one side, there was a 12-year purchase guarantee, and on the other, a huge plot of land granted by presidential decree... The state had opened all its doors wide to Murat Sancak.
Another pillar of Sancak's growth story was the media. In 2014, a significant portion of the shares in Star Media Group passed to Murat Sancak. This transfer took place within the framework of a partnership with Azerbaijan's state-owned company SOCAR.
It is now a well-known fact how media ownership changed hands during the AKP era. Murat Sancak became another link in the chain that stretched from the Uzans to the TMSF and then to businesspeople close to the government. The media served not only as an economic investment but also as a shield providing political immunity.
FOOTBALL AND THE IMAGE OF THE ‘GENTLEMAN PRESIDENT’
Murat Sancak, who became president of Adana Demirspor in 2018, this time entered the field through football. Transfers, ambitious statements, direct contact with the stands, harsh rhetoric, and excessive praise from the sports media quickly built the image of a ‘gentleman president.’
Football served as a showcase, obscuring the technical files in Sancak's capital story and portraying him as ‘one of the people.’ However, at the point we have reached today, this shield of football has also collapsed.
Is the arrest merely the result of an individual matter?
Today, Murat Sancak was arrested on charges of ‘betting and money laundering.’ However, this case is not merely about individual criminal allegations. It also reveals:
How a vital sector like healthcare was transferred to private capital,
Who gained access to public land through presidential decrees,
How the media changed hands, And how football was transformed into a popular arena of legitimacy.
Murat Sancak's story is an example of the type of ‘politically connected capital’ created during the AKP era. This multi-layered network, built through healthcare, media and sports, opens the door to questioning not just one person, but an entire era.
Is the arrest the end, or has only a small part of a larger structure been exposed? The coming period will reveal this.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled AKP'li yıllara ait bir profil: Murat Sancak'ın öyküsü, published in BirGün newspaper on December 9, 2025.
