Protests follow mining disaster in İliç: The facts about Çalık Holding

Çalık Holding, identified as one of the parties responsible for the disaster in İliç, Erzincan, has become a trending topic on social media. Çalık Holding stands out as one of the fastest-growing groups during the AKP government era.

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Protests follow mining disaster in İliç: The facts about Çalık Holding

A massive landslide occurred at the gold mine owned by Anagold Mining in the İliç district of Erzincan.

The disaster took place at the Çöpler Gold Mine, a partnership between US and Canadian-owned Anagold Mining and Çalık Holding.

It was reported that a large number of people remained trapped under the debris and that 9 individuals could not be reached. Tons of cyanide spread across the region due to the landslide.

The Nature's Children Ecology Collective went to the front of the Çalık Holding building, one of the partners of the mining operation, to demand accountability for the environmental massacre that occurred.

Following this development, detailed research on Çalık Holding began on search engines.

ROSE TO PROMINENCE DURING THE AKP ERA

Çalık Holding is one of the fastest-growing groups of the AKP government era. The holding company grew rapidly in many sectors, from energy to telecommunications, finance to textiles, and construction to media, through privatizations, TOKİ tenders, international agreements, and favorable loan conditions.
According to its annual activity reports, the Holding increased its equity by approximately nine times between 2012 and 2020, rising from 1 billion 600 million liras to 13 billion 900 million liras.

ON THE LIST OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST

Ahmet Çalık, the chairman of the board of the Holding, who stated that he learned trade in Istanbul's Sultanhamam, is ranked 2035th among the world's richest people in Forbes' 2021 list with a fortune of 1.5 billion dollars.
Çalık had also earned the title of the fifth richest person in the country on the same magazine's 2020 Turkey list. However, it is difficult to find information on how much tax Ahmet Çalık pays from open sources.
Ahmet Çalık's name does not appear on the 2019 tax record holders list most recently announced by the Revenue Administration; Çalık appears to have exercised his right not to disclose his name.

SABAH-ATV TENDER

The Holding, which has received numerous tenders in the fields of telecommunications, construction, energy, and mining, was also the winner of the tender held in December 2007 for Sabah-ATV, which was seized and put up for sale by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF). In the tender where all other participants withdrew, the only bid came from the Holding, where Berat Albayrak was the general manager at the time. As the group entered the media sector, it received a 750 million dollar loan from public banks.
The sale of Sabah-ATV to the Çalık group was a turning point in the media. After this date, a process began in which the majority of mainstream media passed to companies close to the government.
Çalık Holding and Recai Arslan, the founder of Rema Group, whose name is mentioned in the Holding's offshore companies, did not respond to questions.

ABOUT ÇALIK HOLDING

Çalık Holding is a Turkey-based holding company founded at the end of 1997, operating in the fields of energy, construction, mining, textiles, finance, and digital sectors. Its chairman of the board and founder is Ahmet Çalık.

The Çalık family's first activities began in the 1930s with textiles. The first venture of Ahmet Çalık, the founder of the Holding, in the textile sector began with the Ortadoğu Tekstil company he founded in Istanbul in 1981.

With the establishment of GAP Güneydoğu Tekstil in 1987, GAP Pazarlama in 1994, GAP İnşaat in 1996, and GAP Elektrik in 1997, Çalık Holding Anonim Şirketi was established in the same year with the aim of uniting the companies within the group under a single management umbrella.

Later, it united the group companies operating in the fields of energy, construction, mining, textiles, finance, and digital under one roof by establishing Çalık Holding in 1997. In 2007, it won the tender for Kayserigaz, which was privatized in Turkey, and incorporated the company into the group.

In the tender held by the TMSF on December 5, 2007, it acquired the Merkez Media Group, affiliated with Ciner Holding, for 1.1 billion dollars. As a result, it entered the media sector as all rights and assets of magazines, newspapers, television, and radio channels passed to the Turkuvaz Media Group.

On December 20, 2013, Çalık Holding ended its activities in the media sector by transferring Turkuvaz Media, which it owned, to the Kalyon Group.

News Source: 12punto