Head of Turkey's media watchdog appointed as Halkbank board member

Ebubekir Şahin, the head of Turkey's broadcast regulator RTÜK, has been appointed as a board member to the state-owned Halkbank. The appointment came on the same day that Hamza Yerlikaya, one of the senior advisers of President Erdoğan, was similarly appointed as a member of the board of directors at Vakıfbank.

Duvar English

Ebubekir Şahin, the head of Turkey's broadcast regulator RTÜK, has been appointed as a board member at the state-owned Halkbank, Public Disclosure Platform has said.

Erdoğan's adviser appointed as a board member to state-owned VakıfbankErdoğan's adviser appointed as a board member to state-owned Vakıfbank

The decision was taken during an ordinary general meeting on June 12.

Şahin replaced former board member Mehmet Emin Özcan and will serve in this post for a period of three years.

According to the minutes of the general meeting, Şahin will receive a salary of 12,530 Turkish Liras ($1,839) per month from this position. If a Halkbank board member does not have an income from any other state-related position, then their monthly salary is 22,500 liras ($3,302).

The new appointment came on the same day that Hamza Yerlikaya, former Olympic wrestler and one of the senior advisers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was appointed as a member of the board of directors at Turkey’s third largest state-owned bank, Vakıfbank.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy chair Veli Ağbaba criticized these two appointments in a Twitter post early on June 13.

"[Presidential] Palace's Senior adviser and Sports Deputy Minister Hamza Yerlikaya has also become a board member at Vakıfbank. And RTÜK Head Ebubekir Şahin has been appointed as Halkbank board member. On the other hand, our millions of bright, equipped young people cannot even find a job to work on minimum wage. No ifs and buts: This system, this broken system!" Ağbaba wrote on Twitter.