Main opposition CHP calls to dismantle Erdoğan-led Turkey Wealth Fund, dubs it 'parallel treasury'

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) called to dismantle state-owned investment portfolio Turkey Wealth Fund, dubbing it a "parallel treasury." The CHP said that the wealth fund was representative of the autocratic administrative style employed in Turkey in recent years.

Thursday February 04 2021 11:25 am

Müzeyyen Yüce / DUVAR

Ankara's state-owned investment project Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) presents a parallel construct financing the government, and should be dismantled immediately, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said in a recent report.

Chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself, the investment portfolio was established in 2016 and includes $33 billion of companies across eight industries, all owned by Ankara.

"This points to not just a parallel state treasury, but also a brand new parallel construct governing the state's economy and public finances," the report noted. "The TWF should be dismantled immediately."

The institution failed to provide 2019 documents to parliament for the annual Court of Accounts audit and only complied in early 2021, prompting criticism from the opposition.

Prepared in response to the delay in TWF's 2019 audit, the CHP report noted that the state investment was representative of the autocratic and centralized politics that have dominated the country in recent years.

"It presents an example of Turkey's individual-based administrative style that places institutions under the control of a small circle and renders them useless," the CHP said in the report.