BLUE LANTERN: VERIFYING BONA FIDES OF REGISTERED

UNCLAS ANKARA 001687 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR PM/DTCC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KOMC ETTC TU SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: VERIFYING BONA FIDES OF REGISTERED BROKER AHMET OSMAN MAYATEPEK- CASE NO. K-0071 REF: SECSTATE 99472 ¶1. (SBU) We visited the office of Elsan Defense and Communications (reftel) and met with Murat Unluturk (vice president for contracts) and Ambassador (retired) A. Hikmet Alp (senior advisor) on November 23. Unluturk told us that the company does not engage in manufacturing or storage of US Munitions List items, and is not a distributor of such equipment. Rather, Elsan's core business is to serve as an intermediary for U.S. and Turkish defense firms to identify opportunities for U.S. clients in the Turkish market and to help the Turkish armed forces and Turkish defense companies locate sources and partners for defense-related projects. ¶2. (SBU) According to Unluturk, Elsan was founded in 1983. The company is registered with and licensed by the Ministry of Commerce to engage in business activities. The company has registered with PM/DTCC since at least 2004, according to Unluturk, and its registration has been renewed on an annual basis since. In addition to founder and chairman Osman Mayatepek, principal officers in the company include: - Mr. Ersoy Volkan (CEO and CFO) - Ambassador (retired) Ali Hikmet Alp (senior advisor to the chairman) - Murat Unluturk (Contracts Vice President) - Deniz Findik (Administrative Manager) ¶3. (SBU) Elsan's U.S. clients include Boeing, Pratt and Whitney, Force Protection, Global Seating Systems, Hydraulics International, and Delex Systems. The company also has clientele from Canada, Jordan, Israel and the Czech Republic, although, Unluturk stressed, its relationship with non-U.S. companies never involves USML items. Unluturk underscored that the company only deals with established Turkish defense firms, the Turkish Armed Forces and the Ministry of National Defense on USML items. ¶4. (SBU) The company relocated its office in September 2009 and its new contact information is as follows: Iran Caddesi 47/4-5 Ankara 06700 Turkey Tel: (90) 312-428-8812 Fax: (90) 312-428-8801 Website: www.elsangroup.com ¶5. (SBU) The company representatives were cooperative and answered all of our questions related to the company and are open to answering any additional questions. Based on the information presented in the meeting we believe that the company is a bona fides company authorized to engage in defense-related activities. JEFFREY "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"