Erdogan Fires Trade Minister After Allegations of Nepotism

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired Ruhsar Pekcan as trade minister on Wednesday following allegations that she favored her husband’s company in government tenders.

The president named Mehmet Mus, a parliamentary whip of the ruling AK Party, as new trade minister in a decree published in the Official Gazette.

Erdogan has long been expected to reshuffle his cabinet and the sacking of Pekcan came after OdaTV website reported over the weekend that the Trade Ministry purchased disinfectants worth 9 million liras ($929,000) from two companies owned by her husband. Pekcan denied any wrongdoing in a statement Tuesday, saying the ministry purchased about half a million liras worth disinfectants from her husband’s company and that the lowest bidder was chosen regardless of the owner.

Turkey’s Trade Minister Faces Allegations of Nepotism

The president also divided the country’s Family and Labor ministry into two, replacing the outgoing minister, Zehra Zumrut Selcuk.

Erdogan appointed Derya Yanik, a member of his party’s branch in Istanbul, as family minister and named Vedat Bilgin, a former AK Party lawmaker and adviser to the president, as labor minister.

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