HDP questions why former Treasury Minister Albayrak still serves as deputy chair of Turkish Wealth Fund

Duvar English

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Group Deputy Chairman Saruhan Oluç has asked why former Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has not yet resigned from his position as the deputy chair of the Turkey Wealth Fund (TVF).

“Why is this person who has brought the economy to this point still maintaining his role as the deputy chair of the TVF? Is this a joke?” Oruç asked during a press meeting in parliament on Nov. 17.

“All of the predictions of Berat Albayrak came out wrong and he resigned [as finance minister]. The chairman of the TVF is [President] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The deputy chair is Berat Albayrak,” he said.

The government set up the TVF in 2016 to develop the value of Turkey’s strategic assets and provide investment resources.

Its assets include investments in major banks and insurance companies, state energy companies, flag carrier Turkish Airlines, fixed-line operator Türk Telekom and miners.

In 2018, Erdoğan appointed himself as chairman of the TVF and completely changed its board, naming his son-in-law Albayrak as his deputy. The revamp was the latest in a series of steps Erdoğan took to assume new powers since he won the June 2018 presidential elections.

On Nov. 8, Albayrak announced his resignation as the treasury and finance minister amid escalating fallout over Turkey's collapsing economy and plunging currency. His resignation came a day after Erdoğan replaced the governor of Turkey’s central bank.

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