Turkish banking regulation official accepts gifts from bank execs at wedding

Mustafa Aydın, the deputy chair of Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) invited bank executives and MHP deputies to his Sept. 19 wedding reported journalist Timur Soykan. Guests lined up to present jewelry worth hundreds of thousands to the couple.

Thursday September 26 2024 02:19 pm

MHP deputies and former Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu serve as witness at BDDK vice chair Mustafa Aydın's wedding.

Duvar English

Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) deputy chair Mustafa Aydın invited and accepted opulent gifts from banking officials at this wedding, reported journalist Timur Soykan.

The BDDK was established in 1999 to regulate and supervise the financial sector. BDDK is responsible for ensuring the efficient operation of banks, leasing companies, asset management firms, and factoring companies, and for protecting the interests of depositors. Recently, the agency made headlines due to a wedding.

Historically, BDDK officials maintained distant relationships with the companies they regulated. However, deputy chair Aydın invited executives from banks and other financial institutions to his Sept. 19 wedding at a five-star hotel in Istanbul.

Soykan crashed the wedding and broke the story. He observed that the bank executives lined up to present gifts at the wedding.

In his column in the daily Birgün, Soykan shared details about the event, mentioning that former Interior Minister and current deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Süleyman Soylu served as a witness at the ceremony. Many Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) figures were also in attendance.

Soykan reported that before the wedding, the executives held meetings to decide on the gifts, with some discussing how much to give to avoid being outdone by rival companies. According to Soykan, the gift-giving ceremony lasted for hours, and there was no dancing or celebration.

Soykan also remarked that in the past, BDDK officials kept a significant distance from the companies they regulated. He added,

“Financial institutions felt they had no choice but to attend the wedding of the official who regulated them on behalf of the state. Deciding on the amount to gift was difficult. It is rumored that some even gathered information on rival firms' contributions to avoid being left behind. Bank CEOs set budgets between 150,000 and 350,000 Turkish lira (4,000 to 13,000 dollars) for the gifts."

Soykan attended the wedding uninvited and shared insights from the event. Accordingly, banks, factoring companies, payment institutions, and asset management firms sent nearly 100 wreaths to the event, which filled up the entire hallway.

Wreaths continued to arrive, many from MHP officials, suggesting that Deputy Chairman Mustafa Aydın had ties to the MHP.

Wedding witnesses included MHP deputy speaker Celal Adan, MHP deputy chair and Istanbul MP İsmail Faruk Aksu, MHP deputy secretary-general and İzmir MP Zafer Osman Ağaoğlu, MHP board member and Antalya MP Abdurrahman Başkan, MHP Niğde MP Cumali İnce, and MHP Chief Advisor Ruhi Ersoy. The mayor of western Kırklareli province and MHP member Derya Bulut, officiated the wedding.

It was clear to everyone that the groom had the backing of MHP, the ruling coalition's junior partner. Süleyman Soylu’s position was noteworthy. Before handing over the marriage certificate, Celal Adan delivered a speech, conveying the greetings of MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli.

Soykan noted that the gift-giving ceremony lasted for hours. None of the guests danced, and there was “no joy,” he said. “Most of the guests left the hotel after depositing their gifts into the box and posing for a photo with the wedding photographer.”