Erdogan appoints himself chairman and his son-in-law as deputy of Turkey’s Sovereign Fund in a series of maneuvers

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed himself chairman of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, the latest move to consolidate his control over state institutions. The president announced on Wednesday that Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law, would act as his deputy as part of an overhaul of the board of the fund, which was founded in 2016 and later took over government shares in Turkish Airlines, Turk Telekom and a string of banks.

The fund had been billed as a means of shoring up market sentiment and funding investment following an attempted coup that shook the economy, but it has been paralysed by disagreements about its strategy, which led to the sacking of its chief executive last year. The wealth fund presides over assets worth $200bn, according to Bloomberg.

FT

In the meantime the Turkish Government has announced that moving forward property sales and rental agreements cannot be made in foreign currency, which means that they can only be done via the lira instead. In addition, those sales and agreements which involve foreign currencies must be converted into the lira within 30 days.