About the News Articles in Media

In the news articles that have appeared in certain media today, it is claimed that an “earnings sequestration” will be made, in 220 million US Dollars, as the equivalent of the value of the fuel oil claimed to be illegal, pursuant to Inspection Board Report of Customs Undersecretaries (“Customs Inspection Report”), which is among the appendices of the Indictment issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office with regards to an infraction during the course of the imports of oil products by POAŞ between 2001 and 2007, during the period when our Company was a shareholder of Petrol Ofisi A.Ş. ("POAŞ"), and which had been accepted by the relevant Court (the “Indictment”).

It is understood that certain media which is not adequately satisfied by the Indictment, and the marginal amounts indicated in the Customs Inspection Report, wishes to wrongfully guide the public opinion, with the intention of coming up with new crimes and sanctions, void of all legal basis, rational grounds, and evidences, and also to mislead our investors.

We would first like to tell the fact that the approach set forth in the Customs Inspection Report was not deemed noteworthy at the conclusion of the Indictment, and there was no such demand either in the Indictment. And therefore, as there are no such demands, it is not legally possible for the Court to issue a verdict for an “earnings sequestration”. Under the light of this fact, it is observed that the misleading news articles appearing in the media have become the instruments of a malevolent perception operation to taint the reputation of Mr Aydın Doğan, the founder, and the Honorary Chariman, of our Company. Moreover Aydın Doğan has never served in the POAŞ Board of Directors either.

We would also like to repeat and reiterate the fact that POAŞ, and its affiliate Point have operated with the objectives of providing the fuel oil products with the most affordable conditions, and to meet the domestic demand that Tüpraş failed to meet, and have effected transactions by professionals who are all specialists in their relevant fields. All of these transactions have been effected in compliance with the Customs Law and the provisions of the General Agreement on Customs and Trade.

Therefore the news articles that have appeared in certain media do not reflect the reality.

With this opportunity, we would like to emphasize and present for the information of the public opinion and our investors that any and all legal measures will be taken to ensure that a just and a legal verdict is issued in the lawsuit filed against our senior executives who have served in the past, and who are currently serving, that we have full confidence in the Turkish Jurisdiction, that no significant impact is expected on the activities and the financial statements of our Company arising from the abovementioned legal process, and that accordingly the wrong and misleading news articles served in certain media should not be heeded.

This statement is made within the scope of Article 9 of Capital Markets Board II-15.1 Communique on Public Disclosures.

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