The Yıldızlar SSS Holding Scandal: A “Cradle of Patronage”

The unfolding crisis surrounding Yıldızlar SSS Holding (Doruk Madencilik) has transitioned from a labor dispute over unpaid wages into a massive political and financial scandal. New documents, including Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) reports and parliamentary revelations, suggest a deep-seated cycle of “patronage and plunder” involving public banks and contradictory government actions.

While the company has left hundreds of miners without pay, it appears to have successfully navigated the state apparatus to secure billions in credits and vast new mining rights.

1. The Halkbank Loan: Mortgaging the State to the State

According to Sayıştay reports, the financial maneuvers used by Yıldızlar SSS Holding represent a landmark case of banking irregularities:

• The Loan: In 2011, the holding secured $480 million from the state-owned Halkbank for its ceramics division.

• The “Hazine” Scandal: As collateral, the company provided Treasury-owned land (Hazine arazisi) in Kütahya. Essentially, the state’s bank accepted the state’s own land as security for a private loan.

• The Fallout: By the end of 2019, the debt—including interest—surged to 2.222 billion TRY. Despite multiple restructurings, the bank was unable to collect. When the bank attempted to seize the collateral, it found the assets were “hollow” or already heavily encumbered by first-degree mortgages held by other banks.

• The Result: Out of a multi-billion lira debt, the state has reportedly recovered only 17 million TRY.

2. The “License” Paradox: Minister vs. Bureaucracy

Perhaps the most damaging revelation concerns a direct contradiction between the Ministry of Energy and its executive arm, MAPEG (the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs).

• The Promise: Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar previously stated, “They can’t even pay their workers for months; I will never issue another license to this firm.”

• The Reality: Documents presented in Parliament by İYİ Party and Yeni Yol Party representatives show that on the exact same day the Minister made that vow, MAPEG convened and granted the holding a new coal mining license in Orta, Çankırı.

• The Scope: According to İYİ Party’s Turhan Çömez, the company has been granted a total of 2,364 licenses, covering 29,694 square kilometers—an area larger than the province of Ankara.

3. Tax Exemptions and “Shepherd” Threats

Despite receiving 131 million TRY in incentives from TEİAŞ and managing massive state resources, the holding’s fiscal and ethical record is under fire:

• Tax Record: Records show the company paid zero corporate tax in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

• Labor Intimidation: In parliamentary records, it was noted that when miners in Gümüşhane and Çankırı protested over unpaid wages, management reportedly threatened them, saying, “We will shut down the factory and turn you all into shepherds.”

Summary of the “Vurgun” (Plunder) Cycle

source: karar