Özel accuses gov’t of trying to cover up fund crisis

ANKARA

Özgür Özel, during a weekly address at the parliament on Oct. 13. (AA Photo)

Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition New Party, has once again called on the government to launch an open and transparent inquiry into the multibillion-dollar fund crisis, arguing that current actions are nothing more than an attempt to cover it up.

“If they want to avoid any misunderstandings, they should better release the list [of those who profited from the fund crisis],” Özel said during a weekly address to his lawmakers at the parliament on Oct. 13.

The main opposition claimed that many individuals who profited massively from the crisis are either members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) or closely connected to government circles.

Citing former AKP Deputy Chair Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who recently resigned from her party posts, Özel criticized the government for failing to properly investigate how she made a massive fortune in
just a few months.

The perpetrators and the victims of the fund crisis are also the members of the AKP as all these senior bureaucrats were appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the main opposition leader said.

“They knew that their deputy leaders, current ministers, bureaucrats and almost entire presidential palace are involved in this. That’s why they wanted to cover it up,” he claimed, also criticizing authorities for sanctioning journalists who were writing on this issue.

Since September, Türkiye is continuing to debate a major crisis triggered by the manipulation of the stock market and investment funds. The opposition says the cost of the crisis is around $20 billion.