Abdullah Bozkurt/ Stockholm
Neşet Koçkar, a Turkish businessman with close ties to the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, continues to operate a sprawling empire encompassing tourism, energy, aviation, consulting, food, IT and yachting despite US and EU sanctions targeting his Russia-based airline.
Koçkar’s airline, Azur Air (formerly Katekavia), was sanctioned by the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement (OEE) on April 7, 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions prohibit Azur Air and its affiliates from engaging in any transactions involving items of US origin or other activities subject to US export regulations, except those explicitly authorized by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for flight safety. The move dealt a direct blow to the company, which operates a fleet composed of US-manufactured Boeing aircraft.
Four days later, on April 11, 2022, the European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List and banned Azur Air from operating in European airspace.
Established in October 2014 by Koçkar, Azur Air began with a fleet of 14 aircraft (three Boeing 737-800s, nine Boeing 757-200s and two Boeing 767-300s), operating under Koçkar’s ANEX Group through Turkish company Mavigök Aviation. The fleet had expanded to 35 aircraft prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although headquartered in Moscow and registered as a Russian company, Azur is wholly owned by the ANEX Group.
US Federal Register announcement listing Azur Air as a sanctioned entity:
The airline quickly became the largest charter operator in Russia, offering flights to international vacation destinations such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico. However, Western sanctions severely curtailed its operations, forcing the airline to abandon most international routes. Today, it primarily operates flights to Turkey, which is notably the only NATO country that has opted out of enforcing Western sanctions.
The airline has also been plagued by aircraft leasing recalls and a shortage of spare parts due to export controls. Of the 22 Boeing aircraft remaining in the fleet (ten 757s, ten 767s, one 737 and one 777), only 12 are expected to remain operational during the 2025 summer season, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. Allegations persist that Azur aircraft are being serviced in Turkey and are procuring spare parts despite international sanctions.
The restrictions extend beyond Azur Air itself. The US export controls apply to entities and individuals linked to the airline, warning that any business facilitating violations could face similar restrictions. The sanctions were issued in the form of a temporary denial order and have been renewed four times, citing ongoing violations such as unauthorized re-exports of US-origin aircraft from locations including Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey and Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. These sanctions will remain in effect until at least September 20, 2025, unless extended again.
Though not all of Koçkar’s businesses are directly implicated in the sanctions, their association with him has made potential partners in Europe and North America increasingly wary of engaging with him. Businesses and individuals appear reluctant to risk Western backlash by associating with Koçkar, whose aviation business has been red-flagged by both the US and the EU.
Nevertheless, thanks to his close connections to the Erdogan government, Koçkar continues to expand his business ventures. Azur Air remains active, flying Russian tourists to Turkey and serving as a vital link between the two countries’ tourism sectors.
Koçkar’s network of companies in Turkey and abroad is extensive and often difficult to trace. He utilizes family members and proxies to maintain control, frequently shifting shares between entities, dissolving companies or founding new ones.
Between 2021 and 2023, trade registry records in Turkey show that Koçkar consolidated 10 hotel and hospitality companies and two agricultural product firms (Heroic, Parus, Lumos, Semilo, Nebula, NMM, Luxhab, Optima, Edenica, Cihantic, Life and Vonk) under a single corporate umbrella: Adalı Otel Tur Organizasyon Ticaret A.Ş.
He also operates separate companies in the same sector, including Atg Yönetim Danışmanlığı Organizasyon Turizm İnşaat Taşımacılık Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Pharus Organizasyon Turizm Ticaret A.Ş., On Otelcilik Turizm Organizasyon İnşaat Ticaret A.Ş. and Rubi Otelcilik ve Turizm A.Ş.
Through these companies, Koçkar controls a vast portfolio of luxury resorts and hotels located in Antalya and Muğla. Among the properties under his management are Utopia World Hotel, Selectum Collection Bodrum, Selectum Noa Belek, Selectum Colours Side, Asteria Family Resort Belek, Asteria Bloom Bodrum, Asteria Collection Side, Zen The Inn Resort, Zen Phaselis Princess Hotel, Syedra Otel, Belvista, Prestige Alanya, The Norm Collection Door, The Norm Oriental Kemer and the Sun Princess Hotel. Changes in the brand names and structures of some of these properties are apparent in recent trade registry filings, suggesting a strategy of brand adaptation and repositioning.
Trade registry records show that Neşet Koçkar and Turkish Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy are partners in Xclusive Turizm:
Koçkar also co-owns Xclusive Turizm, a company offering international holiday packages, including flights, accommodation, transfers and travel insurance. Public records show that his partner in this venture when it was established was Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. This partnership effectively gives Koçkar access to cabinet-level influence and decision-making affecting his business operations.
Koçkar has further expanded his ventures abroad, occasionally using his Malta residence in corporate filings. He and his family hold shares in companies across Europe including the UK, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain.
In 2019, through his consulting firm AX Girişim Danışmanlığı A.Ş., Koçkar acquired three subsidiaries of the now-defunct British travel giant Thomas Cook: LLC NTC Intourist (focused on marketing and sales in Russia), LLC Touroperator Intourist (which managed tour packaging and itineraries) and ITC Enterprises Limited (a UK-based firm handling procurement and destination services in Turkey).
With these acquisitions, Koçkar not only secured the rights to operate the Intourist brand, one of Russia’s oldest tour operators dating back to the Soviet era, but also strengthened his foothold in the Russian and British travel markets, both of which are crucial for Turkey’s tourism sector.
He already owned Motus Turizm Seyahat Acenteliği Taşımacılık İnşaat Ticaret A.Ş. (MOTUS), a company that provided airport transfers for Russian tourists visiting Turkey through contracts with Intourist.
In 2020 Koçkar purchased Neckermann Reisen, a prominent German travel brand previously owned by the Thomas Cook Group. This acquisition followed his earlier takeover of two other former Thomas Cook Germany subsidiaries: Öger Tours and Bucher Reisen.
Most recently, in April 2025, Koçkar acquired a 33.2 percent stake in Novaturas, the largest tour operator in the Baltic states. Novaturas controls approximately 40 percent of the tourism market in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The acquisition, expected to be finalized by the end of this year, will make Koçkar one of the company’s largest shareholders.
Despite aggressively expanding in Turkey’s tourism sector, Koçkar has faced no obstacles in securing regulatory approval from the Turkish Competition Authority (Rekabet Kurulu), which has greenlighted all his acquisitions, helping consolidate his market dominance.
Koçkar’s rise in the business world began in Antalya, where he worked in hotels while attending tourism school. In the 1990s, he moved to Russia with only a few hundred dollars in his pocket and began working in hotels and selling Turkish vacation packages. He later established his own company, which quickly grew due to strong Russian demand for Turkish holiday destinations.
Some of his ventures have come under legal scrutiny. In 2021 Veli Çilsal, a hotel owner in Didim, accused Koçkar of using mafia-style tactics to forcibly take over his properties. A criminal complaint was filed against Koçkar.
