Netherlands: Investigation into illegal trade by Turkish mosques

The authority responsible for regulating financial markets in the Netherlands (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM) is investigating the possibility of illegal trade in shares in Turkish mosques and coffee houses in the Netherlands. The ATF started the investigation after reports in the media. No victims have complained.

According to Volkskrant it appears from an investigation of a Turkish parliamentary commission and a series of judgments handed down by courts in Germany and Switzerland that 400,000 Turkish immigrants were swindled out of at least 5 milliard euro in the Netherlands and in other countries,

The mosques of the Turkish organization Milli Görüs are implicated in the fraud. The organization is involved with the building of the Wester mosque in the Amsterdam neighborhood De Baarsjes. The building of the mosque has been going on for almost ten years coupled with arguments between the municipality, the building corporation Het Oosten, and the administration of the mosque association Aya Sofia about the religious direction of the mosque.

Recently a secret contract was leaked out, from which it appeared that the Wester mosque is now in the hands of the head office of Milli Görüs in Keulen, that is known as extremely conservative. Monday it was announced that five former adherents of Milli Görüs accused the administration of the yet to be build mosque of financial mismanagement. In a petition against the building of the Wester mosque they accused the administration of being involved with "shady" financial companies.

Source: Tiscali (Dutch)

See also: Amsterdam: Company threatens to stop mosque building , Amsterdam Mosque minaret disagreement solved, Netherlands: Money being transferred illegaly through mosques

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