An investigation should be carried out on black money for 26 billion dollars

■ Hülya K. ORUÇOĞLU

Treasure former Undersecretary, Economist Dr. Mahfi Eğilmez noted that money entering Turkey through net errors and omissions, which is also described as money of unknown origin, must be examined. Eğilmez noted that approximately $26 billion of money of unknown origin entered Turkey in 2022 and said “it was necessary to investigate.” The Financial Action Task Force announced that Turkey was placed on the gray list, which requires stricter monitoring, arguing that it has deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing in 2021. This time, the accusations of money laundering by social media influencers became a hot topic in Turkey. While the judicial process over the phenomenon continued, the accusations were brought to Parliament and the opposition presented a motion on the issue. When the proposal was rejected by AKP and MHP votes, the discussions became even more heated.

‘THERE IS NO NEED TO BE A PROPHECY’

Dr. In his article on his website, Mahfi Eğilmez stated that in 2022 there was an entry of 25 thousand 929 million dollars in the item of net errors and omissions and said: “Since 26 billion dollars is more than half of the current account deficit for the year in question ($49.1 billion), there is something beyond these statements.” You don’t have to be a fortune teller to guess. These problems were never investigated, but were consciously and deliberately allowed to be covered up over time. “This issue should have been the subject of investigations like black money and drug trafficking,” he said. Eğilmez stated that the Central Bank’s decision to increase interest rates alone cannot save the economy and that these accusations, which came to light with the structural reforms, are waiting to be clarified. Eğilmez also commented on his article: “Finally, Turkey has become a darker country than ever in the world and no one will invest money here.”

The inflow of money was cut like a knife in 2023

2022The influx of money of unknown origin, which broke a record in the history of the Republic, stopped like a knife this year. The net money that entered the country in the first 9 months due to net errors and omissions was 1,406 million dollars. Inflows of money of unknown origin amounted to $372 million in January and $1.3 billion in February. If in March there was an outflow of 2.7 billion dollars, in April there was an outflow of 3.8 billion dollars and in May there was an outflow of 9.3 billion dollars. After the election, an entry was made in the net errors and omissions category. This figure reached $7.3 billion in June, $3.7 billion in July, $4.2 billion in August and $208 million in September.