'Where are $128 billion?', Turkey questions Erdogan about forex money

Turkish citizens are asking their President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to show them the money.They want to know where the government spent $128 million from its forex reserves.

Opposition parties say this sum was sold at foreign exchange markets to keep the sinking Turkish currency stable.

However, Erdogan denies the charge. He says those levelling it should be charged with treason. It is not helping his case, though as hundreds of posters and billboards have emerged in Istanbul asking one question: Where are the $128 billion dollars?

This question has turned into a political slogan in Turkey. It is emblazoned on posters and billboards in Istanbul and is imprinted on the masks of many Turkish citizens.

The Republican People's Party in Turkey says the state banks used this sum from Turkish forex reserves and sold them to support the sinking Turkish lira in foreign exchange markets.

They claim this corrupt policy began around the 2019 municipal elections and was ramped up in 2020 when the pandemic laid bare the lira's vulnerability.

What's worse is that this alleged foul play coincided with the tenure of Berat Albayrak, the former finance minister of Turkey and the son-in-law of the Turkish president.

Albayrak resigned in November 2020 citing health reasons. However, opposition leaders say the resignation was a political stunt to save the first family's reputation.

The Turkish government has literally launched a counter-attack. It has ordered the Turkish police to take down all banners in questioning the government’s actions.

Erdogan has gone as far as to call the campaign as 'outright treason’. He even offered a clarification in the country's parliament.

"Since there is no real desire to understand what happened to the $128 billion, of all the talk, there is nothing accurate. Neither the sum in question, nor the explanation of the sum, nor the campaign around it. From beginning to end, it is all lies and mistakes," he said. "Let our people be reassured. The 128 billion dollars of this country have neither been given as a gift to anyone nor wasted."

However, Istanbul has also acknowledged that the questions need answers from the right people. So the finance minister of Turkey has allowed the country's central bank to publish all data regarding foreign exchange transactions.

This is a welcome step from a government that rarely owns up to its mistakes. It is also an indication that every leader, even Erdogan who has ruled Turkey for 18 years, can be vulnerable to political and public pressure.