“This operation came out of Turkish Cyprus and is related to the murder of Halil Paliali,” said Turkey’s Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, as reported in “Daily Sabah”. “The authorities traced the transfer of about 2.5 billion Turkish lira ($135 million). About $40 million of this money has been confiscated at the moment.” Halil Palieli is a Turkish casino owner who was murdered in February at his home in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. “This is just the beginning,” Soylo added regarding the law enforcement actions.
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These actions come against the backdrop of the escalating economic crisis in Turkey, when the country’s monetary policy, under the direction of Turkish President Erdogan, is based on the pursuit of growth and competition in exports and not on calming inflation. Erdogan advocates the unusual belief that raising interest rates increases inflation and not the other way around and called raising interest rates “the mother of all evil”. The policy consistently arouses criticism and bewilderment from economists, and plays a central role in the dramatic weakening of the Turkish currency, the lira, which lost about 28% of its value against the dollar this year.