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court ruling, must pay TRY556,000 in compensation to Erdogan and some of his relatives after publicising documents that he claimed showed the president’s family hid money offshore in a company based on the Isle of Man.
Erdogan, meanwhile, using another obtained court ruling, has been busy seizing FX worth TRY565mn from the Istanbul Municipality held at government-run lender Vakifbank to pay a debt owed by the former administration of the municipality to a contractor, MET-GUN Insaat​.
The money was borrowed abroad by CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu for metro construction​. MET-GUN was a leading contractor for the municipality when it was controlled by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
It is rather notable that while Erdogan seized Imamoglu’s hard currency, he paid the contractor in lira​.
Vakifbank said on July 16 that it would sue Imamoglu for statements he had made against it. Such seizures result from court rulings and lenders must apply them, the bank added.
The banking law in Turkey has a particular article with broad scope that came into force after the banking industry in the country collapsed following the Turkish crisis of 2001—under it, pretty much saying anything negative about the banks is a crime.
Imamoglu’s close friend and Fox Turkey anchor-man, Fatih Portakal, is also in trouble under the banking law after he implied in a tweet that Erdogan might seize bank deposits.
Last but not least, there’s the tale of one Ahmet Sariduman, who fired his good self from the position of general manager of Ankara Municipality’s subsidised bread production company, of which he is also board chairman, and paid himself TRY36,000 in severance for the dismissal. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas revealed Sariduman’s fancy footwork on July 17 at a long city council session on corruption.
P.S. If you've not yet had your fill of dastardly deeds and bizarre contortions, catch up with the Wushu Federation ​story​ from Ahval.
2.6​ ​Turkey seesawing between earthquakes and floods
Turkey has ​become​ familiar with a worrying pattern in which it experiences low magnitude earthquakes more frequently than usual. Since last autumn, casualty-causing earthquakes have hit eastern towns and cities, while some lower magnitude earth tremors have occurred in western parts of the country.
Also, during May and June, Turkey experienced floods and other adverse weather events such as hailstorms that caused casualties and damage to agricultural crops.
On June 26, an earthquake with a preliminary measure of magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale hit a town in western Turkey, sending people rushing out of buildings, AFP reported. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
The earthquake was centred in the town of Saruhanli, in Manisa province, and it was felt in the neighbouring provinces of Izmir, Aydin and Mugla.
The quake came a day after another tremor, measuring 5.4, shook the eastern province of Van, near the border with Iran, slightly injuring five people and damaging homes.
13​ TURKEY Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com