Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced Tuesday that six companies have been seized and trustees have been appointed to 10 others as part of a large-scale operation targeting alleged tax evasion and fraud in the fuel and LPG sector.
Gürlek said in a post on X that the operation was carried out in nine provinces as part of an investigation led by the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın @RTErdogan liderliğinde suçla, kaçakçılıkla, vergi usulsüzlükleriyle ve kamu kurumlarını hedef alan nitelikli dolandırıcılıkla mücadelemizi İçişleri Bakanlığı, Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, Ticaret Bakanlığı ve Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığımızla tam bir…
— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) June 23, 2026
According to the minister, investigators found that a corporate structure operating in the fuel sector imported around 350,000 to 400,000 tons of LPG annually and allegedly tried to avoid special consumption tax and value-added tax liabilities through fake invoices and fictitious export transactions.
Simultaneous operations were carried out in İstanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Kırıkkale, Kırşehir, Mardin, Konya, Hatay and Niğde provinces, with legal proceedings launched against 27 suspects, Gürlek said.
The operation was conducted in coordination with the İstanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Tax Inspection Board, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), the Customs Enforcement Directorate General, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) and the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).
“We will not tolerate any organized structure that targets the state’s tax security, economic order or public resources,” Gürlek said, adding that authorities would continue to trace the proceeds of crime and pursue legal action against those involved.
The operation targeting the fuel companies comes amid renewed debate in Turkey over the appointment of trustees to private companies during criminal investigations.
Earlier this month, 13 poultry producers were placed under supervisory trustee measures as part of an İstanbul-based investigation into alleged price manipulation and anti-competitive practices in the sector.
Police briefly detained 29 people on June 12, including senior executives and company officials, on accusations of establishing a criminal organization and manipulating prices.
An İstanbul court later lifted the supervisory trustee measures for 11 of the 13 companies after objections filed by company lawyers, according to Turkish media reports.
The appointment of trustees to companies has become more common in Turkey since a failed coup in 2016, when more than 1,300 companies were taken over in post-coup investigations and transferred to the TMSF.
The TMSF’s own data for January 2025 listed hundreds of companies under full, partial or supervisory trusteeship, while later reports showed the number of companies under the fund’s control rising again to more than 1,000.
The mechanism also spread to local government after 2016, particularly in Kurdish-majority provinces, where elected mayors from pro-Kurdish parties were repeatedly removed from office and replaced by state-appointed trustees.
Critics say the practice has weakened property rights, democratic representation and legal predictability, while the government says trustee appointments are a lawful tool used in investigations involving terrorism, organized crime, corruption or threats to public order.