“Big character assassination campaign”
Turkish central bank chief resigns after a few months
February 3, 2024, 1:19 a.m
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After less than a year in office, the head of the Turkish central bank is stepping down from her post. There are allegations of corruption against them. The 44-year-old denies the allegations.
The head of the Turkish central bank, Hafize Gaye Erkan, has tendered her resignation following corruption allegations. She asked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be relieved of her duties, “which I have fulfilled with honor since day one,” Erkan explained in the online networks.
The 44-year-old former banker hit the headlines because of allegations of nepotism. According to Turkish media reports, Erkan’s father was given an office, a company car and bodyguards by the central bank. He was therefore even allowed to make personnel decisions.
Erdogan was also reportedly upset because Erkan told the Hurriyet newspaper in January that she had moved back in with her parents because she had been unable to find an affordable apartment in Istanbul because of the high rents. “We couldn’t find accommodation in Istanbul. It’s terribly expensive.” “Is it possible that Istanbul has become more expensive than Manhattan?” Erkan asked.
Erkan speaks of a “character assassination campaign”
In her resignation, Erkan wrote that a “major character assassination campaign” had been organized against her. By resigning, she wants to prevent her family and her one-year-old child from being even more affected.
After his re-election last May, Erdogan appointed Erkan as the first woman in history to head the Turkish central bank. Since taking office in June, she has focused on drastic interest rate increases in the fight against high inflation. The Turkish central bank recently raised the key interest rate to 45 percent at the end of January. Erdogan had opposed such a monetary policy for years. Before her appointment as the head of the Turkish central bank, the 44-year-old had lived in the USA for two decades – and worked there in management positions at several major banks, including Goldman Sachs.