Erdoğan grants special permit to his daughter's foundation

It has emerged that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan granted a special permit for the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM Foundation), of which his daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar is the founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees.

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, the KADEM Foundation has been added to the list of "Organizations Authorized to Collect Donations Without Permission" maintained by the General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society, which operates under the Ministry of Interior.

MINISTRY PROPOSED, PRESIDENT APPROVED

According to Article 6 of the Law on Collection of Donations No. 2860, individuals and organizations cannot collect donations without obtaining permission from the competent authority. However, the KADEM Foundation was granted the right to collect donations without permission upon the proposal of the Ministry of Interior and with the approval of President Erdoğan. With this privilege, the KADEM Foundation will be able to collect funds without seeking state authorization.

The KADEM Foundation was established on July 7, 2015, by several figures close to the ruling party, including Erdoğan's daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar, former AKP MP Emine Sare Aydın, Hafize Şule Albayrak—the wife of Serhat Albayrak (brother of Berat Albayrak) and a faculty member at Marmara University's Faculty of Theology—and Esra Varank, the wife of AKP MP Mustafa Varank.

50 ASSOCIATIONS CAN COLLECT DONATIONS WITHOUT PERMISSION: ENSAR IS ALSO AMONG THEM

According to information released by the General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society, a total of 50 associations and foundations were granted the "right to collect donations without permission" between 1995 and 2023. Of these 50 associations and foundations, 48 received this right between 2004 and 2019, during the years the AKP governments were in power.

Among the associations and foundations granted the right to collect donations without permission are the Ensar Foundation, remembered for a sexual abuse scandal; the Deniz Feneri Association, which made headlines with a corruption scandal; the Diyanet Foundation; the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH); the reactionary Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Foundation; the Hayrat Humanitarian Aid Association; and the Beşir Social Assistance and Solidarity Association.

Furthermore, the Turkey Youth and Education Service Foundation (TÜRGEV), the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), and the Foundation for the Spread of Knowledge (İlim Yayma Vakfı), where Bilal Erdoğan serves as an executive, are also on the list of organizations granted the right to collect donations without permission.

While the list includes associations and foundations belonging to AKP executives, organizations such as the Association for Supporting Contemporary Living (ÇYDD) are not included.