Mehmet Şimşek's İmamoğlu admission: He reveals the cost of March 19 for the first time

CHP member Ümit Özlale requested a noteworthy response from Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek in a parliamentary question he submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Özlale brought up the cost of the detention process of the CHP's imprisoned presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, to the national economy.

According to a report by Cumhuriyet, Özlale included the following statements in his motion:

“The process that began with the detention of İmamoğlu has created significant democratic tension in domestic public opinion; it has extraordinarily increased the perception of political risk regarding Turkey in the international press. This development has shaken investor confidence and led to severe deterioration in all financial indicators, primarily in the foreign exchange market and Borsa Istanbul. While the Turkish Lira has experienced historic losses in value since March 19, there has been a record-level melting in reserves due to the Central Bank's foreign exchange interventions.”

Accordingly, Özlale asked the question, “What is the total loss in reserves for the period of March 14-21, and what are the underlying reasons for this loss?”

ŞİMŞEK'S RESERVE ADMISSION

In his response to the motion, Minister Şimşek shared the following information:

“Gross and net reserves, which stood at 171.1 billion US dollars and 73.9 billion US dollars respectively as of March 14, were recorded at 163.1 billion US dollars and 62.1 billion US dollars as of March 21.”

11 BILLION DOLLAR MELTDOWN IN RESERVES

This statement revealed that there was a decline of approximately 11 billion dollars in the Central Bank's net reserves during the week İmamoğlu was taken into custody.

“PRICE STABILITY WILL BE MAINTAINED”

Responding to Özlale's question, “Are these interventions consistent with the strategies envisaged within the scope of the current economic program?”, Şimşek stated the following:

“The fundamental factors determining foreign exchange supply and demand are the implemented monetary and fiscal policies, the current account balance, capital movements, and economic confidence and expectations. Necessary efforts are being meticulously carried out by our relevant institutions for the healthy functioning of the markets. Necessary steps will continue to be taken to protect the increasing resilience of our economy and financial stability through the economic program we are implementing.”

CHP REPORT: “3.9 TRILLION TL BURDEN ON THE PUBLIC”

A field study information note sent by the CHP to its deputies included striking figures regarding the economic reflections of the process. According to this, the cost of interventions in the foreign exchange market between March 19 and May 2 reached 60 billion dollars. While the burden of this period on the public was 3.9 trillion TL, the bill for the private sector was calculated at 2.1 trillion TL.

News Source: 12punto