Çelebi Aviation India strongly refuted the recent allegations distributed on social media on its ownership and operations in India as ‘misleading and virtually wrong’, amid growing controversy after revocation of the security clearance by the Indian authorities. The statement comes shortly after Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi (IGI) terminated its contract with the Turkish origin firm, citing security issues, which çelebi firmly denied. “We are not a Turkish organization for any standard and fully adhere to the global accepted practices of corporate governance, transparency and neutrality, without political connections or ties to any foreign government or individuals,” the official statement states. In a detailed statement, çelebi Aviation India emphasized that it is a professionally managed, global managed aircraft service business with a majority ownership held by international institutional investors from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Western Europe. Çelebi Aviation has made it clear that 65% of its ownership lies with these international investors, with Actera Partners II MP, a Jersey-registered fund, which has 50% of the çelebi Havacılık Holding A.ş. owned, and the remaining 15% owned by the Alpha Airport Services BV, a Dutch-registered entity. Çelebi Aviation was founded in 1958 by the çelebioğlu family as Turkey’s first private and independent land handling business. The company has been working in India for more than 15 years and is a significant player in the private land handling sector, who directly employs more than 10,000 Indians and supports thousands of families. According to the official statement released, çelebi Aviation has invested more than $ 220 million in long -term infrastructure and is working on nine of India’s busiest airports. Çelebi Aviation explains the allegations that address rumors of political affiliates and Turkish governmental connections, and çelebi’s aviation rejected categories that it has any connections with the Turkish government or political figures. The company specifically has the allegations of Ms. Sümeyye Erdoğan, daughter of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, denied and said she had no shareholding or ownership in the parent organization. The Turkish shareholding is only limited to members of the founding çelebioğlu family-mr can çelebioğlu and Ms Canan çelebioğlu-which owns 17.5%, with no political commitments or associations. The recall of security clearance by Indian authorities has investigated the firm. Çelebi Aviation replied by repeating that all its facilities, including Delhi Airport freight, fully comply with the Indian aviation, national security and tax regulations. Çelebi Aviation also said that their operations are regularly audited by Indian Aviation and Security Bodies such as the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAs) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Çelebi expressed the confidence that transparency, facts and common sense prevailed in wrong information. The controversy began when Indian security agencies raised concerns about the firm’s ownership structure and alleged ties with foreign political entities, which led to the withdrawal of its security clearance-a critical requirement for dealing with sensitive airport operations. Subsequently, Delhi Igi Airport announced that it would strike his connection with çelebi, citing safety protocols and national interest. Çelebi encouraged a responsible distribution of information and called on media and stakeholders to avoid strengthening speculative and inaccurate stories that may endanger years of collaborative success and the livelihoods of thousands of employees and their families in India
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