Opposition asks where ‘mystery money’ comes from

ANKARA

Turkey’s capital inflows of an unknown origin reached $4.3 billion in February, the highest level since September 1998, and the government needs to clarify immediately about where this mysterious money comes from, the deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has said.

“The February current-account gap was announced as $3.2 billion. The Central Bank reported $4.3 billion in mystery inflows, categorized as ‘net errors and omissions,’ in February that more than offset the $2.2 billion in financial outflows. The net errors and omission reached the highest level since September 1998,” CHP deputy chair Faik Öztrak said in a written statement on April 10.

“Unusual increases in the net errors and omissions make a healthier economic analysis impossible. Despite this dramatic rise in this item, the reserves of the Central Bank narrowed by $1.1 billion in February. The government is testing the limits of rationality by saying the inflow of mysterious money have showed the trust of Turkey from the Middle Eastern, Balkan and North African countries… The government needs to immediately announce where this money comes from,” he added.