Full authority for Erdoğan in that fund! While everyone is talking about the Fatih Terim Fund...

While the effects of the high-interest foreign currency fraud case known to the public as the 'Fatih Terim Fund' continue, the "Family and Youth Fund" has been brought to life.

However, the authority to use, increase, or decrease the oil and mining revenues in the fund has been left to Erdoğan.

Gazete Duvar columnist Bahadır Özgür, in his article titled "Erdoğan has now obtained an authority through which he will use underground resources without oversight: The Family and Youth Fund," stated the following:

WHERE WILL THE FUND FIND REVENUE?

"The 9-article Bill on the Establishment of the Family and Youth Fund, which the AKP submitted to Parliament last week, was passed into law at jet speed in just one week. According to the law, the fund will have the status of a public legal entity affiliated with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Its management will consist of deputies from the ministries of Treasury and Finance, Family and Social Services, Youth and Sports, and Energy and Natural Resources.

The purpose of the fund is not limited to providing loans of up to 150 thousand liras with a 48-month term to young people getting married, as highlighted by government members and the media. Resources will be transferred to projects approved by the board of directors. It has a very general, vaguely defined scope of duty. Moreover, it is significant that it is off-budget. We see how the Turkey Wealth Fund is devoid of oversight and has been turned into a family business. It is only envisioned that financial data regarding the fund will be shared with the public every six months.

The fund's revenues are exempt from all taxes and duties. There is also a 'donation' detail, and we know well what this means during the AKP era. The law states that all cash donations and aid made to the fund will be deductible from the donor's income or corporate earnings. Let's come to the most important issue: Where will the fund find revenue?

OIL AND MINING REVENUE REMOVED FROM THE BUDGET

The revenue sources are listed in the law as follows: 20 percent of the state share collected under the Turkish Petroleum Law and the state right collected within the framework of the Mining Law; 10 percent shares to be deducted from the revenues of other existing and newly established funds by Erdoğan's decision; all kinds of domestic and international donations, aid, grants, etc. Furthermore, the share of mining and petroleum rights can be increased up to 40 percent by Erdoğan's decision. This means the fate of the fund depends on Erdoğan. He will also prepare the regulation that will determine the working procedures.

In short, the fund, which is 'innocentized' as if it were a social project like a 'marriage loan,' has enormous resources. The path for these resources to increase is also wide open. Because a significant portion of the revenue the state obtains from underground wealth has been taken out of the budget and tied here. So, how much is the resource?

According to the 2023 Central Government Budget Law, the state right revenue from oil and mines is 14 billion 373 million liras for this year. The 2024 estimate is 16 billion 742 million liras, and 2025 is 19 billion 258 million liras. In other words, if the currently determined rate of 20 percent is taken into account, a resource of at least 4-5 billion liras will constantly flow here. Indeed, the money initially allocated for the fund was 5 billion liras. If we add to this the 10 percent shares that will come from other funds with Erdoğan's permission, a very substantial public resource emerges. Let us remind you that Erdoğan has the authority to increase the deductions up to 40 percent.

WHERE WILL IT BE USED?

What will be done with such a large resource? That is where the essence of the matter lies.

We have been discussing for years how the AKP government transfers public resources to desired addresses in an uncontrolled, non-transparent manner. Money is already being transferred from the budget for social aid. But there is also money transferred to foundations, associations, etc., established by religious sects and individuals associated with the AKP. In fact, we saw in the recent earthquake that many activities, from aid to social projects, are carried out through these foundations and associations. One of the goals of the new fund is to produce and finance projects. Let us emphasize once again; expenditures of the Family and Youth Fund are outside of oversight. Or rather, they will be as transparent as the statements to be made by the fund management.

The second point is shaped by Erdoğan's view of family and youth. In other words, billions of liras will be spent for the pursuit of a 'pious and vengeful generation.' Considering the elections, it is possible to say that this fund will also be an election expenditure. In short, like everything else, the scope of the new fund is so open-ended that it will be impossible for us to know where the money goes.

We will see over time how the Family and Youth Fund will be used, of course. But if a government establishes a fund and takes state resources out of the budget, know that its intention is to take the money out of oversight and pave the way for off-the-books spending. Indeed, those who remember the Turgut Özal era know well. He had established dozens of funds that bypassed the budget, and these funds became black holes where plunder, bribery, and corruption were hidden. So much so that, despite months of effort by state audit experts after the Özal government, they could not even find the traces of many funds.

Even though the Family and Youth Fund appears to have an 'innocent' purpose like a marriage loan on paper, the removal of state oil and mining rights, which are recorded as revenue items in the budget, from the budget and their transfer to a fund under Erdoğan's rule is not that innocent. This country has two natural resources that are always valuable: the land above the ground and the mines below it. Now, both are being placed at Erdoğan's service with extraordinary powers.