Erdogan ignores Turkish firm amid Mogadishu airport controversy

Despite being accused of corruption, labor exploitation, sexual harassment, and abuse of power, a Turkish company that was controversially given the management of Somalia’s international airport through a dubious contract and appears to have involved Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long been opposed to scrutiny. Most recently, the company’s impunity was demonstrated when a top official who had been arrested in September on allegations of sexual harassment and mistreatment of Somali staff was freed and the criminal case was quietly dropped.

Turkish company faces Mogadishu scrutiny

Ertugrul Karaferiyeli, the human resources manager of Turkey’s Favori LLC airport management and ground handling company, which has been in charge of Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport since 2013, was arrested on September 17 on charges of grave misconduct, including sexual harassment, threats, abuse of authority, and labor law violations involving Somali workers. This case came to light in September. Before his arrest, Karaferiyeli had been the subject of a protracted investigation by Somalia’s Office of the Attorney General. The Banadir Regional Court finally granted a detention order after considering the evidence that the prosecutors had given. The Turkish government, which had enabled Favori, which has strong ties to Turkish President Erdogan, to be awarded the Mogadishu airport operations, was rocked by the arrest of the Turkish executive. Karaferiyeli was freed on October 2 after a flurry of talks and correspondence between Somali and Turkish authorities. It was stated that during the behind-the-scenes talks, the victim’s family agreed to drop their case in exchange for a $20,000 out-of-court payment.

Mogadishu airport deal sparks debate

Turkey’s Favori LLC airport management and ground handling company’s human resources manager is Ertuğrul Karaferiyeli. Before joining Favori, a business run by Turkey’s Kozuva Group, Karaferiyeli worked for years for Turkish Airlines, the country’s flag airline, where he held various roles, including chief of VIP clients. Before being kindly given a 20-year contract to run the Mogadishu airport, Favori, which is run by the Kozuva family, had no prior expertise in airport management. The family, which is based in the industrial city of Çerkezköy, Turkey, has developed strong relationships with the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is led by President Erdogan, over the years. At the Kozuva Group of Companies, Mustafa Kozuva is the chairman of the board of directors, while his younger brother Süleyman Kozuva is his deputy. Emre and Sinan Kozuva, two further brothers, are also board members. Often spotted with Turkish President Erdogan, Süleyman unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Çerkezköy in the 2019 municipal elections on the AKP platform.

Controversy over Turkish operations in Somalia

In 2015, President Erdogan personally attended the opening of a portion of the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, and in 2020, he gave the same group the 25-year operating rights for Turkey’s Cukurova Airport in Adana. With the support of Turkish President Erdogan, who used his political clout to enrich the company and its owners beyond their wildest dreams, Favori’s story serves as an example of how a tiny business can quickly grow into a large conglomerate. Favori started as a small business, founded in December 2005 by Süleyman Kozuva and two business associates under the name Favori Grup İnsaat Malzemeleri Mobilya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Favori Group Construction Materials Furniture Industry and Trade Limited Company). With an initial capital of about $300,000. The company is focused on selling construction materials. Kozuva eventually included his three brothers in the company, turning it into a family-run business. The business had never before provided ground or airport management services.

Erdogan opposes firm amid accusations

Favori signed a contract with Somalia’s federal government, represented by the Minister of Information, Post, Telecommunication, and Transportation, on January 9, 2013, to renovate and run Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport. This agreement was made although Favori’s official business registry did not permit the company to operate, build, or develop airports or to buy or sell jet fuel. Normally, there would be no chance for a business with no prior aviation or airport management experience to secure such a contract. Furthermore, there was no evidence in trade registry data indicating the company planned to grow into the aviation industry in the future. President Erdogan, however, has urged Somali authorities to award the contract to a business he selected, even though it does not match any qualifying or eligibility requirements, suggesting that the agreement was mediated politically.