FBI investigating FETO in the US: Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday said the FBI has launched a nationwide operation against the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), the group behind the 2016 failed coup in Turkey.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Cavusoglu said, "There is a serious investigation into FETO launched by the FBI in 15 US states. Moreover, arrests started in some states, including New Jersey."

Cavusoglu said that during the recent G20 summit in Argentina, US President Donald Trump told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the US were working to extradite FETO leader Fetullah Gulen to Turkey from his longtime US residence in the state of Pennsylvania.

Turkey has long complained of US inaction in failing to extradite Gulen.

FETO and its leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and thousands more injured.

Ankara accuses the group of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

FETO has a considerable presence abroad, including private schools serving as a revenue stream for the terror group, many of them in US states.

FETO schools in the US have faced legal challenges of financial mismanagement, misappropriation of public funds, and abusing the immigration process.

As of 2017, FETO operated 136 charter schools in 28 states, and used more than $2.1 billion in US taxpayer dollars since 2010, according to CBS News.