Gülen movement set up 'resembles organized crime network,' says US official

A senior U.S. State Department official on Oct. 31 said the movement of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen has a set up that resembles an organized criminal network, which makes it not a "benign religious movement."

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said charity and education organizations run by Gülen's sympathizers have a suspicious structure and financing and look "a lot like the ways in which organized crime sets itself up by folks who are trying to hide money for money laundering," rather than a "benign religious movement."

He also said Turkey's contention that Gülen and his followers were involved in the failed coup attempt "may have some merit," even as the Obama administration says Turkey has provided little evidence to support their claim.

Ankara accuses Gülen of orchestrating the attempted military coup in July and is asking the U.S. to extradite him. Gülen denies any involvement and has condemned the attempted coup and the U.S. is reviewing Turkey's request. 

The official told reporters there are "reasonable grounds" to take the Turkish government's accusations against Gülen seriously.

The briefing comes several days after Turkey's justice minister met with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to press the extradition request. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ compared Gülen to Osama Bin Laden and warned that Washington's failure to hand Gülen over could seriously hurt bilateral ties. Washington views Turkey, a NATO member, as an important ally in the region in fighting terrorism.

The State Department official said the United States government is examining Turkey's evidence against Gülen, but added that the evidence so...