Ministry of Treasury and Finance denies privatization allegations

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has stated that the allegations made by CHP Zonguldak Deputy Deniz Yavuzyılmazregarding public losses incurred during the conversion of certain privatization payments to Turkish Lira do not reflect the truth.

In a written statement issued by the Ministry, it was noted that Yavuzyılmaz "continues to constantly mislead the public" on his social media account with incorrect information.

It was stated that the transactions, which were carried out by referencing the Privatization High Council Decision No. 2017/13 and official letters sent by the Privatization Administration to Dicle Enerji Yatırım Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ and Yeniköy Kemerköy Elektrik Üretim ve Ticaret AŞ, were intentionally distorted.

The statement pointed out that in order to protect the value of the Turkish Lira and ensure standardization in public contracts, public institutions under Decree-Law No. 683 were enabled to collect their domestic receivables denominated in foreign currency in Turkish Lira, upon the debtor's request, at the foreign exchange buying rate announced by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey on January 2, 2017, until December 31, 2017. It was shared that "In this direction, with the Privatization High Council Decision dated April 28, 2017, and numbered 2017/13, it was made possible for installment payments arising from privatization contracts in US Dollars to be paid in Turkish Lira."

The statement indicated that additional contracts were signed with all investors who applied in accordance with the relevant legislation, based on the interest rate applied to Treasury receivables, and the following was recorded:

"All receivables from all debtors were collected in full and on time, converted at the exchange rate of that day, and no public loss occurred; these transactions have also passed the Court of Accounts audit. However, our honorable Deputy has attempted to create a perception as if these 2017 Turkish Lira conversion transactions were carried out today, and has attempted to recalculate receivables that have already been fully collected using arbitrary, current 2024 exchange rates. It is kindly requested that the public not give credence to these allegations, which are understood to have been made by the honorable Deputy for political motives."