Claims had been made that Mehmet Şimşek would stay in a $5,000-a-night villa: Statement from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance regarding the high-profile allegation

Republican People's Party (CHP) Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay had claimed that Ziraat Bank was organizing a 150 million lira event for 3,000 people at a hotel in Antalya, and that Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek would stay in a villa-style room costing $5,000 per night.

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance issued a statement regarding Akay's claim, stating, "The claim is completely baseless and is a perception operation."

The statement from the Ministry noted that the claim voiced by Akay was used "without verifying its accuracy."

The Ministry, which issued a written statement on the matter, noted the following:

"The claim that 'Minister Mehmet Şimşek, who published a savings circular, will stay in a villa costing $5,000 per night' is completely baseless and is a perception operation. It has been observed that the claim voiced by CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay in the news was used without verifying its accuracy. Therefore, the claim that our Minister will attend the event on the last day is completely baseless, and no such participation is in question."

"Furthermore, our Minister, as a matter of principle, never stays at institutional workshops. In this context, contrary to what is stated in the news, our Minister will be in Brazil for G-20 meetings on those dates. We condemn this type of journalism, which is conducted without verification by us and solely for the purpose of creating a perception."

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

In a report by the Sözcü newspaper, it was stated that Ziraat Bank and its subsidiaries would gather for a year-end event to be held at the Rixos Sungate Hotel in Antalya between November 11-18, with 150 million TL to be spent. CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay had made the following claims regarding the matter:

“150 million lira is being spent from our nation's pocket on an ultra-luxury organization that Ziraat Bank, Ziraat Participation Bank, and their subsidiaries will hold under the name of a year-end meeting with 3,000 people in three groups. (To Şimşek) The hotel's most luxurious villa, costing $5,000 a night, is being allocated to him. Who will pay this money? Are the savings measures announced by the Minister only valid for the poor citizen? While meetings and organizations outside the city are prohibited under the scope of savings measures, who authorized this organization? The poor are doing the saving, while the minister is living in luxury."

News Source: 12punto