İşbank CEO Hakan Aran: “Can Holding Scandal Cannot Touch Us”

İşbank CEO Hakan Aran has dismissed allegations linking the bank to the ongoing money laundering probe into Can Holding, insisting that loans provided by the bank were legitimate. “Any payments made through bank loans are clean money. If there is a laundering issue, it comes from elsewhere,” Aran told Reuters.

“Loans are not the issue”

Aran underlined that İşbank was not the sole financier of Can Holding. “We were not the only lender. Three banks jointly extended credit. Once a company pays through a bank loan, that money is by definition clean. If Can Holding is accused of laundering, that must concern other funds, not bank financing,” he said.

He also argued that neither İşbank nor the wider Turkish banking system would be tainted by the investigation:

“When you trace the money, there is no way this will contaminate Turkish banks. İşbank is not a group where you can throw mud and hope it sticks.”

Addressing speculation over management ties, Aran noted that Gökhan Şen—recently arrested in the Can Holding probe—had previously served as an independent board member at İşbank, but resigned after accepting the CEO position at Ciner Glass.

Largest money laundering probe in Turkey’s history

The scandal around Can Holding has rapidly grown into what observers describe as the largest money laundering investigation in Turkish history. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses the group of “organized money laundering, smuggling, and aggravated fraud.”

Can Holding’s owner, Kemal Can, was arrested along with several executives, while board chairman Mehmet Kenan Tekdağ was placed under house arrest. The investigation later expanded to include the Ciner Group, one of Turkey’s biggest conglomerates.

Prosecutors allege that the 2024 sale of Ciner Media Group (owner of Habertürk and Show TV) to Can Holding involved laundering proceeds of organized crime. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Ciner Group’s owner, Turgay Ciner, who is currently abroad, while court-appointed trustees have taken over several group companies. His son, Atilla Ciner, and Ciner Glass CEO Gökhan Şen were both arrested.

Background: Can Holding and Ciner Group

• Can Holding has roots in the tobacco and fuel trade but has recently expanded into media, education, and energy. Investigations revealed that its acquisitions—including Bilgi University, Doğa Koleji, and Ciner Media Group—were allegedly carried out under the direction of senior government officials.

• Ciner Group is a major Turkish conglomerate active in media, glass, mining, and energy. Its media arm was sold to Can Holding, a deal now at the center of the money laundering case.