Turkey’s Trade Minister was accused of exercising favoritism, by favoring her husband’s company and presenting it in some government tenders
Reports indicate that the Trade Ministry purchased disinfectants worth 9 million liras from two companies owned by Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan’s husband.
On Monday, lawmaker Ali Oztunc of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) put the matter on parliament’s agenda, formally asking Pekcan whether the alleged sale complied with rules governing state tenders and whether she directly ordered the purchase of the supplies.
Pekcan’s office did not immediately comment. However, the CHP MP released a message regarding the incident through a video, calling on Pekcan to address the allegations.
The nepotism charges came amid mounting public anger over endemic corruption and a weakening economy. last Monday an investigation was launched into allegations of human trafficking leveled against a local municipality run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The government launched the investigation, with one deputy governor and three other bureaucrats suspended from their duties so far. Details only began to fully emerge last week as various people involved in the scam began to speak out.
Opposition parties have previously demanded the government to explain where some $128 billion in Central Bank reserves went after it was thought to have been spent to prop up Turkey’s ailing currency by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, former Economy Minister Berat Albayrak.
During its nearly 20 years of uninterrupted rule, the AKP managed to survive a string of corruption scandals, most notably in 2013 when a far-reaching probe unveiled links between Erdogan’s inner circle, Turkish state lender Halkbank and Iran’s multibillion-dollar sanctions-busting oil-for-gold trade.
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