Turkey withdraws accusations of ‘terror financing’ against German firms

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – German officials on Monday said Turkey had dropped accusations of “terrorism financing" against major German corporations as tensions between the NATO allies increase.

A spokesman for the German interior ministry said his Turkish counterpart had reached out to him regarding the allegations made against nearly 700 German firms.

Germany’s interior ministry spokesman Tobias Plate announced Turkey removed its list of companies with Turkish operations "being investigated for funding terrorism.”

Plate added the suspicion was based on a “communication problem,” France 24 reported.

The spokesman said the Turkish interior minister had “assured [German officials] that the Turkish authorities were not investigating companies on the list in Turkey nor in Germany.”

According to German newspaper Die Zeit last week, Ankara had given Berlin a list of 68 companies and individuals suspected of links to the Fethullah Gulen movement.

Turkey holds Gulen and its supporters responsible for last July’s failed military coup attempt to overthrow the government.

Some notable companies accused included Daimler and BASF.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday denied the validity of the list, adding the claims were “black propaganda.”

“You have no power to darken Turkey,” Erdogan said, adding the reports were “aimed at pressurizing German companies not to invest in Turkey.”

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also dismissed the reports, labeling them “entirely a lie” and urging his German counterparts “to solve an escalating crisis through dialogue.”

Some German officials insist it would “take a while before German companies can win back confidence” in Turkey despite the “clarification” of the issue.

Editing by G.H. Renaud