Cem Cengiz Uzan is a Turkish businessman and politician of Bosnian ancestry involved in the media and banking industries, while also chairing the right-populist Young Party

Young Party

The Young Party is a nationalist, statist, secular, republican, political party in Turkey.-2002 elections:Cem Uzan entered politics 90 days before the 2002 elections. Young Party was not eligible to enter the elections and Yeniden Doğuş Partisi was a small party which was eligible to enter...

. His family's media empire includes both television stations and print media. He hails from one of Turkey's most influential families, though the family's holdings have faced "scores of civil and criminal lawsuits" alleging various misdeeds, including racketeering, fraud, and libel.http://www.cenkuzan.tr.gg/Cem-Uzan.htm

Criticism

Uzan has often been criticized for using his professional life to bolster his political life, and even benefiting from criminal charges leveled against him.http://www.cenkuzan.tr.gg/Libananco.htm In 2003, U.S. District Court

United States district court

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

 Judge Jed Rakoff commented, "I think the proof is very strong that the Uzans are business imperialists of the worst kind, in that they will go to any lengths, including fraud and racketeering, to preserve their business empire..." Cem Uzan responded by asserting that the judge "is biased against Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, against the Turkish people."

He once described a Motorola

Motorola

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...

lawsuit against his family's holdings as "Lies! A bunch of outright lies!"http://www.cenkuzan.tr.gg/iMAR-BANK-.htm

Legal Problems

In 2009, Motorola and Nokia won a $4.8 billion dollar judgement against the Uzan family. The Uzans failed to show up in court and the judge ordered an arrest warrant for them should they enter the United States.

Also in 2009, he fled to France claiming political asylum after being indicted of racketeering in Turkey.

On April 15, 2010, Uzan was sentenced in absentia in Turkey to 23 years in prison