The leader of a high-profile Turkish private research company that calculates the country’s inflation to be twice the official rate is facing disciplinary action at his university job in Istanbul.
According to a document seen by Reuters, Yeditepe University initiated an investigation into Veysel Ulusoy, a professor at the university’s commercial sciences college, following an interview he gave to a local news website regarding the private project he runs.
The university stated that it cannot comment on an ongoing investigation due to confidentiality.
According to the paper, the private university asked Ulusoy’s defence about possible misuse of the institution’s premises and resources against its purpose and without approval from management, activities that, if proven, would result in a written reprimand and pay suspension.
Ulusoy stated that he thought the investigation will result in the termination of his academic contract.
‘I’ve been expecting something like this since we started this study endeavour years ago; whatever happens in the end, we’ll keep battling,’ Ulusoy said late Saturday to Reuters.
Last month’s annual inflation rate was 160.76 percent, according to ENAG statistics, whose model was devised by a consortium of academics and researchers.
According to TUIK, the official annual inflation rate reached a 24-year high of 73.5 percent in May, fueled by the Ukraine conflict, soaring energy prices, and a plummeting lira. Critics argue that President Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s present economic policies aren’t helping to fix the problem.
Opposition politicians and economists have questioned TUIK’s data’ veracity, but TUIK has stayed firm. According to opinion polls, over half of Turks feel inflation is much greater than the official figures.
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