Trade Minister asked to address allegations that her company sold $1.1m worth of disinfectant to ministry

Duvar English

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has submitted a parliamentary question to Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan asking her if she had made the Trade Ministry purchase disinfectant supplies sold from a company she and her husband own.

“What is the amount of disinfectant supplies bought by your ministry since 2018? How much has been paid for these disinfectant supplies every year? What are the brand and unit prices of the purchased disinfectant supplies? How much disinfectant supplies have been bought from which companies?” CHP MP Ali Öztünç asked in his parliamentary question, ANKA news agency reported on April 19.

Öztünç also asked Pekcan if allegations that her company sold 9 million Turkish liras (approximately $1.1 million) worth of disinfectant to the Trade Ministry are true or not.

Separately, the CHP MP released a message regarding the incident through a video, calling on Pekcan to address the allegations.

“Dear Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, I have been asking you for the last four days. Have you sold disinfectant supplies to your ministry from your own private company or not?” Öztünç said, adding that he had not been able to get an answer from the minister for the last four days.

“Unfortunately, there is no answer from you. Staying silent is accepting it. So it is obvious you are accepting it. You are making a history by becoming the first minister that sells goods from their own company to the ministry. Please give an answer or resign from your post,” Öztünç said in his message.

Ruhsar's company that is at the center of allegations is named Karon Mühendislik ve Ticaret Ltd which was founded in 2005.. The company also undertakes works in engineering-related projects such as supplying pipelines for drinking water, irrigation, petroleum and natural gas.