Bankruptcy ruling for Demirören

The Demirören family, who have not repaid the millions of dollars in loans they received from Ziraat Bank in Turkey, have ended up in court after failing to repay a loan they took out in Germany. A bankruptcy ruling has been issued against their real estate company. The reason for the decision is that Mikare Real Estate, founded by Tayfun Demirören in Berlin in 2014, failed to repay a 240 million euro loan taken out in 2020. Observe what happens to a pro-government figure who is not touched even though they do not pay their multi-million dollar debts in our country, when they encounter a minimum level of law.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the government using public resources to create pro-government figures is the loan given to the Demirören family from Ziraat Bank to buy media outlets. This loan was given openly during a period when income distribution was beginning to deteriorate significantly, and the cost of living and poverty were increasing. Hüseyin Aydın, the then-General Manager of Ziraat Bank, also said, "We had the money, so we gave it," in a statement he made on the days when onion producers' warehouses were being raided on the grounds that they were hoarding.

However, the government, which is currently burdening citizens with price hikes and taxes for money, is still not touching Demirören's debt. The latest report from the Court of Accounts revealed that the loan debt remains exactly as it is and nothing has been done in return. According to the 2022 audit report, the Demirören family owes Ziraat Bank 895 million dollars in principal and 25 million dollars in interest. Therefore, although the loan had a two-year grace period, it is understood that the Demirören family did not make any payments in 2021 and 2022 either.

But when the same Demirören family fails to repay the loan they took out for a multi-million dollar real estate project they are running in Germany, look at how quickly the German judiciary takes action.

ONE OF BERLIN'S MOST LUXURIOUS PROJECTS

Tayfun Demirören, an executive at Demirören Media Group and brother of Yıldırım Demirören, founded the company Mikare Real Estate GmbH in Berlin in 2014. Mikare is mentioned at length in the CV of Tayfun Demirören, who is also on the board of Demirören Media. This is because it is a very expensive project that is followed with interest in Germany.

In 2017, Tayfun Demirören took over the unfinished ultra-luxury real estate project called Upside Berlin, which was being built in the center of Friedrichshain, right next to the Spree river. The project, which has an investment value of approximately 300 million euros, is built on a construction area of 70 thousand square meters. It includes 380 apartments as well as commercial sections. The main feature of the project is two giant towers of 22 and 26 floors, named Max and Moritz, inspired by a 150-year-old German children's story. The company affiliated with Mikare that runs the project is already called Max and Moritz.

The Demirörens began marketing the project, which they announced would be completed in 2020, while it was still in the construction phase. It is stated that many people from Turkey also bought luxury apartments from the project, which was frequently seen in advertisements in the Hürriyet newspaper. However, although nearly 70 percent of the construction was completed, the project could not fully become operational. Financial means were cited as the reason for this.

240 MILLION EURO DEBT

As a matter of fact, the Mikare company received a 240.3 million euro loan with a 3-year maturity and variable interest rate in February 2020 from Barings, a fund that invests in luxury and large real estate projects around the world. The loan was not paid on time and Barings applied to the court. The Charlottenburg District Court issued a provisional bankruptcy ruling against Max and Moritz on August 22, 2023. The decision also prohibited the implementation of enforcement measures against the debtor as long as the immovable properties were not affected. In other words, the way for other creditors to place a lien on the project was also blocked. Because a year before Barings, an 88 million euro loan had been taken from Linus Capital.

The court took another decision on November 27, 2023. In the decision, Tayfun Demirören's right of disposal over the project was frozen and all authority was transferred to a lawyer appointed by the court as the bankruptcy administrator. Thus, the Demirörens were also prevented from continuing to sell apartments there.

That is the difference between the two countries. In one; millions of dollars that should go to the farmer are poured into the Demirörens to "do propaganda for me," while in the other, they have to find the resources they need from a private financial institution, and when they do not pay, their bankruptcy is requested and their right of disposal over their assets is frozen.

News Source: Gazete Duvar