Turkey sugar probe expands to companies represented on starch industry body NİSAD

Searches follow regulatory and tax inspections

A sugar-market investigation centered in Istanbul has reached companies with prominent positions in Turkey’s starch industry. According to Patronlar Dünyası, authorities conducted search and seizure operations at 26 addresses belonging to 25 companies across eight provinces. A list of 47 people has been drawn into the inquiry for questioning.

The investigation was opened following inspections by the Sugar Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and examinations by the Tax Inspection Board. The official account cited in the report says some companies are suspected of placing starch-based sugar products on the domestic market even though those products should not have been supplied there.

Investigators are also examining allegations that certain products were invoiced under different descriptions, including maltodextrin, glucose, starch and fructose. Authorities identified possible discrepancies between the products stated on invoices and those actually delivered. These remain allegations under investigation, and no final finding of criminal liability against the companies or executives has been reported.

Five companies have links to NİSAD’s board

Patronlar Dünyası identified Tat Nişasta, Sunar Mısır, Beşan Nişasta, Ak Nişasta and GSF Gıda among the companies in the investigation. All five are also represented on the board of NİSAD, the umbrella association for Turkey’s starch industry. That overlap gives the inquiry broader significance for a sector supplying ingredients to a wide range of food manufacturers.

The people representing the companies at NİSAD are not always the same individuals appearing on the investigation list. Sunar Mısır is represented at the association by Hakan Yüzer, while Mustafa Nuri Çomu appears on the inquiry list. Beşan Nişasta’s board representative is Hayrettin Hafif, whereas Mehmet Emin Hafif is listed in the investigation. Ak Nişasta is represented by Hüseyin Eviz, while the inquiry names Ahmet Eviz.

At Tat Nişasta, Hamit Tezcan appears both on the investigation list and as a NİSAD board member. Patronlar Dünyası reports that seven people from Tat Nişasta were called for questioning: Hamit Tezcan, Eyüp Bulut, Hasan Demircioğlu, Mehmet Tezcan, Nihat Ceylan, Nuh Demircioğlu and Osman Filik. Nihat Ceylan is associated with both Tat Nişasta and Sunar Mısır on the list.

Potential consequences extend along the food chain

Sunar is a major Turkish agro-industrial group active in starch, flour, feed, oil and agricultural products. The inclusion of senior executive Mustafa Nuri Çomu illustrates the economic scale reached by the investigation. The inquiry’s importance therefore goes beyond the legal position of individual managers and touches companies with substantial roles in agricultural processing.

Starch-based sugar is an industrial ingredient used across a broad range of food manufacturing. Any confirmed restrictions on product classification or domestic supply could affect procurement practices, documentation and compliance checks for starch processors, sweetener traders and food producers. The reported mismatch between invoice descriptions and delivered goods also raises questions about price comparison and market transparency, although the authorities have not yet announced conclusions.

Competition Authority records cited by Patronlar Dünyası show that Tat Nişasta was previously controlled jointly by the Tezcan and Tosmur families. Control passed solely to the Tezcan family after the Tosmur family transferred its shares in 2019. Fatih Tosmur now sits on NİSAD’s board for Omnia Nişasta. The publication said there was no evidence connecting that former partnership to the current investigation. The next material development will be the prosecutor’s assessment of which allegations, companies and individuals warrant further action.