Turkey cancels research director's license over report on coup attempt

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's Capital Markets Board on Wednesday canceled the license of the head of research at brokerage AK Investment and called for him to face charges over a report he wrote analyzing the July 15 coup attempt. In a regular bulletin, the board said it had canceled Mert Ulker's capital markets activity license over a report he had sent to clients on July 18, saying he had not "fulfilled his responsibilities". It said Ulker would face charges under articles 299 and 301 of the penal code covering insults to the president, the nation and state institutions. The general manager of AK Investment, Mert Erdogmus, told Reuters the company had sacked Ulker on July 25 over the report, saying it contained "mistakes and a lack of foresight", though he denied the move was linked to the board's decision. "Mert Ulker, our former head of research, had shared a report with investors on the morning of July 18 which does not reflect our institution's views at all," Erdogmus said. Ulker's report analyzed the expected impact of the failed coup on financial markets and the economy. It also referred to several theories of who might be responsible. Among the scenarios, it said some had speculated it was a "false flag" event stage-managed to give President Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to purge the military of opponents and extend his grip on Turkey. It went on to say a more rational alternative version hints that Erdogan was vaguely aware of the coup attempt and allowed it to proceed, as he knew the attempt would be weak and disorganized. Ankara accuses U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup. Gulen, who has built up a network of followers, schools, businesses and charities in Turkey over decades, denies any involvement in the coup. In an interview with Reuters last week, Erdogan, who narrowly escaped capture and possibly death on the night of the coup, dismissed as "indecent" any suggestion that he might have secretly orchestrated it to boost his own power. Turkey has suspended, detained or placed under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, judges, teachers, journalists and others suspected of ties to Gulen's movement since the July 15-16 coup, which was staged by a faction within the military. (Reporting by Asli Kandemir; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Gareth Jones)