Turkey ‘should fix’ corruption image: Finance minister

ISTANBUL

Finance Minister Mehmet Şİmşek has praised Turkey for mending its corruption perception over past 12 years, but said there is still room for improvement. AA Photo

Turkey is among the countries that have a poor corruption perception, but has made significant progress and will continue to do so, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

Referring to the Corruption Perception Index calculated by Transparency International, an organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in countries, Şimşek said Turkey ranked 64th in the list in 2002 and the country climbed to 53rd place in 2013.

“Turkey is among the countries that has a bad reputation with corruption,” he said, speaking at the TURSAB meeting yesterday. However, he continued by saying the country had also recorded significant improvement over the past 11 years.

“But does 53rd place suit Turkey? No, it doesn’t. Have we pulled this down to zero? No, we haven’t. Of course we should cover more ground,” he said.

The corruption allegations against scores of government-allied businessmen and bureaucrats, including four ministers, their sons and the CEO of a state-owned bank, are feared to have stained the country’s image for investors. The graft probe launched Dec. 17 has also turned the government against the police department and judiciary branch, raising major concerns over the political stability of
the country.

In his previous remarks, Şimşek had said he realized the government needed to repair the country’s image and introduce anti-corruption reforms to maintain further transparency.