Illegal construction scandal involving holding company awarded by Industry Minister

It has been revealed that the Bursa factory of businessman Ramazan Bayduz, who received an award from the Ministry, was built with 200,000 square meters of illegal construction that was later legalized through a zoning amnesty.

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Illegal construction scandal involving holding company awarded by Industry Minister

How a businessman rose to prominence during the AKP era:

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır presented certificates of appreciation to 40 businesspeople in the presence of President Tayyip Erdoğan at the 'HIT-30 High Technology Incentive Program' promotional event held at the Atatürk Cultural Center in Istanbul on July 26. Can Bursalı from GazeteDuvar reported on the development that served as a turning point in the rise of Ramazan Bayduz, one of the businesspeople who received this rare award.

Karesi Holding, which operated with a 23,000-square-meter facility in 2006, now covers an area of 240,000 square meters. Approximately 200,000 square meters of the factory, located right next to one of the branches of the Nilüfer Stream that irrigates the Bursa Plain, was built through illegal construction. This area is equivalent in size to approximately 35 football fields.

Some of the facilities, which were licensed under the 'Zoning Peace' practice in 2018, are still registered as 'orchards' in land registry records. The stream located right next to the factory, which produces chemical waste in its dyehouse section, flows pitch black. That stream irrigates the surrounding orchards.

ALSO ON TRIAL FOR FICTITIOUS EXPORTS

The trial of Bayduz, who was accused of 'fictitious exports' in a case opened in 2011, is still ongoing. No verdict has been reached in the case yet, but the company owned by Bayduz, a suspect in the 'fictitious export' case, was granted 'authorized economic operator' status, which provides customs exemptions, by the Ministry of Trade in October 2019.

Karesi Holding, which also received support from the Presidency in 2021 for the facility it established in the Bandırma district of Balıkesir, is known for its close ties to the AK Party. Before the constitutional amendment referendum held for the Presidential Government System in 2017, hundreds of workers were transported to a rally in Bursa using the factory's shuttle buses. The then-Minister of Labor, Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, had also visited the factory just before the referendum.

Speaking to Gazete Duvar regarding the factory's growth through illegal construction, Karesi Holding Chairman of the Board Ramazan Bayduz stated that 220,000 square meters of the area is used as factory land and 20,000 square meters as a parking lot. Bayduz said, "Whatever TOFAŞ is, whatever Renault is, ours is the same. What we have done is a practice that has been going on for years."

News Source: 12punto