İpek Kıraç requests appointment of a legal guardian for her father, İnan Kıraç

Businessman İnan Kıraç (87), Chairman of the Board of Kıraça Holding, has married Emine Alangoya (75). According to information obtained by T24, İpek Kıraç learned that her father, İnan Kıraç, had married when she accessed the page regarding her family information on the e-Devlet platform.

In a written statement issued today regarding the matter, İpek Kıraç announced that she had 'requested that İnan Kıraç be placed under legal restriction and that a guardian be appointed for his moral and financial protection.' Kıraç stated that 'she made this decision with great difficulty, but felt compelled to do so in order to protect the legacy of her mother, Suna Kıraç.'

Claiming that her father is suffering from "a loss of judgment and mental health issues," İpek Kıraç said, without naming names, "Following the passing of my mother, Suna Kıraç, in 2020, certain individuals who entered my father's life have been ruthlessly exploiting the decline in his mental faculties and have effectively invaded my father's life from every perspective."

İpek Kıraç expressed her belief that "it is obvious that her father's marriage was not based on love and good intentions, and that she believes her father is not even aware of this marriage."

The full statement from İpek Kıraç is as follows:

"Today, I applied to the Istanbul Anatolian Civil Court of Peace, requesting that my father, İnan Kıraç, be placed under legal restriction and that a guardian be appointed for him for his moral and financial protection. Since the matter has now been brought to the judiciary, I prefer to inform the press and the public personally, within this scope only, in the hope of preventing misinformation and unrealistic commentary that may arise after the news becomes public.

First and foremost, I would like to state that this is a decision I have made with great difficulty. If there had been even one other chance for my father, İnan Kıraç—who adopted me when I was just two months old along with my mother, Suna Kıraç, and raised me with great love and care—to recover from the situation he has fallen into, I would undoubtedly have chosen that path. However, my desire to protect my father, the responsibility I feel regarding the health and continuity of the institutions and organizations under his management, and my will to protect my mother's moral and financial legacy have made this decision mandatory.

The poor choices and behaviors of my father, İnan Kıraç, which have frequently been reflected in the press in recent years, have surprised and saddened not only me but everyone who knows and loves him. The frequency and scale of these behaviors, which we initially found difficult to make sense of and could not reconcile with my father's character, have gradually increased, and as a result, it has become known, especially in recent times, that he is suffering from a 'loss of judgment and mental health issues,' as clearly observed by everyone in his immediate circle.

Following the passing of my mother, Suna Kıraç, in 2020, certain individuals who entered my father's life have been ruthlessly exploiting the decline in his mental faculties and have effectively invaded my father's life from every perspective. In particular, one individual who emotionally abuses my father has systematically removed everyone from my father's business and private life who would notice the scheme they constructed to provide benefits to themselves and their relatives, oppose them, and protect my father's interests. While all scientific research proves that people experiencing mental health and memory problems need to be with people they have known and trusted for a long time and to maintain their routines, this individual has knowingly and intentionally isolated my father completely by firing all the people who have worked closest to him, whom he loved and trusted for many years, leaving him unprotected and alone. It has become impossible for many of his friends and family to even reach my father directly on his personal mobile phone. Therefore, it is now obvious to everyone around him that behind all of my father's behaviors over the last few years that have saddened and surprised us, there are not his own free will, but the decisions and directions of these individuals who suddenly entered his life. So much so that even my father's brother, the late Can Kıraç, rebelled against this situation shortly before he passed away.

According to the latest news I have received, my father, who is 87 years old and in the aforementioned state of health, married in a 'lightning wedding' on December 20 in Büyükçekmece, which has no connection to our family residence or our workplaces. I believe that my father is not even aware of this so-called marriage, which is obviously not based on love and good intentions.

Although I have had to struggle with the ruthless and unjust lawsuits filed by my father for nearly two years, and despite knowing that the person he has now married is behind all these meaningless legal processes, I could not bring myself to bring my father's mental health to the agenda for the sake of the love I have for him and our family unity. However, this latest trap that my 87-year-old father has been lured into has been the final development that convinced me to do what is necessary and put an end to this abuse.

I want it to be known that I will do my best to protect the moral and financial legacy left to my father by my mother, and that I will pursue all legal avenues. Placing my father under legal protection is also a part of this process. I am sure that my mother would also want me to continue protecting our family against all kinds of exploitation, abuse, and injustice. From now on, the supreme Turkish judiciary will surely make the most correct decision.

Of course, this was not the story my mother, who made us a family, dreamed of for my father and me. And of course, I would have wished to spend this life hand in hand with my father, not facing him. I wish it could have been so.

WHO IS İNAN KIRAÇ?

İnan Kıraç is a Turkish businessman and industrialist born in Eskişehir in 1937. Kıraç began his career at the age of 24 in 1961 as a sales clerk at Ormak A.Ş., a subsidiary of the Koç Group. In 1966, he was appointed General Manager of Otoyol, the manufacturer of Fiat trucks and midibuses. In 1970, he became the General Manager of Tofaş Oto Ticaret, the marketing and distribution company for Fiat automobiles produced in Turkey. He was first appointed as the Vice Chairman of Koç Holding responsible for Tofaş, and later as the President of the Koç Holding Automotive Group. Serving as the CEO of Koç Holding until his retirement in 1998, İnan Kıraç witnessed every moment of the development of the Turkish automotive sector, contributed to every detail as a professional manager, and put his signature on many giant factories. In 1998, İnan Kıraç founded the Kıraça Group of Companies together with Claude Nahum.

After serving as an executive in Koç Group companies for many years, he assumed the role of CEO of Koç Holding and later retired due to age limits. After his retirement, Kıraç purchased Karsan from the Koç Group, grew the company, and also entered other businesses, establishing Kıraça Holding.

In 2000, İnan Kıraç, together with his wife Suna Kıraç, founded the "Suna and İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations Antalya Kaleiçi Museum." In 2003, they established the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, which operates in the fields of culture, arts, education, and science, and in 2005, the same foundation established the Pera Museum.

On March 1, 2007, he founded the Istanbul Research Institute together with his wife Suna Kıraç. The purpose of the institute is to support research on the Ottoman, Istanbul, Byzantine, and Republican periods.

WHO IS İPEK KIRAÇ?

Born in Istanbul in 1984, İpek Kıraç is 40 years old and is the granddaughter of the famous businessman Vehbi Koç.

İPEK KIRAÇ'S EDUCATION, CAREER, AND LIFE

İpek Kıraç, who has been a member of the Koç Holding Board of Directors since 2016, began her education at the Koç Private High School. She graduated from Brown University's Department of Biology in 2007 and began her master's degree in the Public Health program at the same university in 2009.

She worked at the Cecil B. Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research, which conducts research on ALS at UMass Medical School, and interned at the American Hospital's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Between 2012 and 2021, she served as the CEO of Sirena Marine Denizcilik San. Ticaret A.Ş. During her tenure, she drew attention in the business world with her successful moves. İpek Kıraç still continues her role as Chairman of the Board at Sirena Marine.

She is also a Founding Board Member of the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Vehbi Koç Foundation, Temel Ticaret ve Yatırım A.Ş., American Hospital, Zer Merkezi Hizmetler A.Ş., Arçelik Pazarlama A.Ş., and Setur Servis Turistik A.Ş.

In addition, she serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Koç School, a member of the Board of Trustees of Koç University and the Galatasaray Education Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV).