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President Erdoğan’s asset declaration at odds with critics’ allegations of massive hidden wealth

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Following Turkey’s recent elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly disclosed his financial assets, according to the country’s Official Gazette, declaring modest assets that stand in stark contrast to allegations made by a former confidant who accused Erdoğan of possessing hundreds of billions of dollars obtained through corruption.

In his statement Erdoğan provided information about himself, his fixed and movable property, banks and securities, and debts and outstanding loans. In the section on real estate holdings, two houses in Üsküdar Kısıklı worth 7,695,000 Turkish lira (TL, approximately $367,000) each and a 2,000-square-meter plot in Güneysu worth TL 10,000 ($477) were listed.

Information on banks and securities included TL 1,854,879 ($88,492) in deposits at various banks. The president also declared TL 30,000 ($1,400) in cash. A debt of TL 5,390,000 ($239,749) owed to Mustafa Erdoğan, President Erdoğan’s brother, was also disclosed.

The public disclosure follows Erdoğan’s re-election as president, with official results showing he received 52.18 percent of the valid votes in the runoff on May 28, amounting to 27,834,589 votes. The elections saw an 84.15 percent turnout rate, as announced by the Supreme Election Board.

The modest asset declaration has sparked controversy as it comes after a series of allegations by Ali Yeşildağ, a former associate of Erdoğan. Before the elections, Yeşildağ claimed in a series of videos that Erdoğan had accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars through corruption and illegal activities. Yeşildağ, from the influential Yeşildağ family, which has a longstanding relationship with Erdoğan, accused the president of exploiting public funds for personal gain and orchestrating corruption schemes.

The allegations by Yeşildağ have been circulated widely in the public sphere, especially on social media. One user stated, “Ali Yeşildağ says Erdoğan’s assets are more than $300 billion. Erdoğa says he owes 5 million lira. In my opinion, Erdoğan is lying; he is deceiving the public.”

Investigative journalist Cevheri Güven, who released the videos provided by Yeşildağ on his YouTube channel, responded to the asset declaration with a tweet that read, “Add 500 billion dollars [to whatever Erdoğan declares].”

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