Levent Kenez/Stockholm
In its 2023 report, the Court of Accounts (Sayıştay), responsible for auditing state institutions, identified a series of irregularities and omissions within the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The report revealed that the ministry recorded some transactions carried out in 2022 as if they had occurred in 2023. Additionally, it was found that exchange rate differences from overseas payments were inaccurately classified as personnel expenses. There were also irregularities in the records of certain movable assets and a lack of coordination with the Social Security Institution (SGK) in covering overseas healthcare costs.
The financial irregularities and numerous unsubstantiated expenditures detailed in the Court of Accounts 2023 report align with findings from previous years, indicating that the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not taken steps to address these ongoing issues. The reduction of the ministry’s internal audit staff from two auditors to one in recent years further confirms this lack of corrective action. Previous reports since 2017 warned the ministry that at least 15 internal auditors should be hired.
According to the report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had a total budget allocation of 10.94 billion Turkish lira in 2022, was allocated 16.78 billion lira for 2023. With an additional 537 million lira in funds, the total budget reached 17.31 billion lira.
The Court of Accounts’ report highlighted irregularities in the ministry’s asset management records. During the review it was discovered that transactions related to accounts for materials supplies, machinery, vehicles and fixed assets that took place in 2022 were incorrectly recorded as 2023 transactions. Additionally, despite the fact that the deadline for adjustments had passed, correction entries and data inputs for assets from previous years were still being made by the relevant units.
The Court of Accounts found that all exchange rate differences from payments made abroad were recorded as personnel expenses. The report noted: “After reviewing the foreign payments made by the ministry through the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, it was discovered that there were discrepancies between the exchange rate set by the ministry for cash requests and the rate used for payments made to the bank. As a result, all payments related to these exchange rate differences were incorrectly recorded under personnel expenses.”
This led to an overstatement in the personnel expenses account. Although these transactions did not occur in 2023 and did not affect the total figures for 2023, they caused the personnel expenses to appear inflated by over 110 million lira.
The report also pointed out that there were expenses that did not comply with the capital expenditure limits set in the 2023 central government budget. The report concluded that the administration needs to ensure that expenses beyond the defined limits are properly categorized under capital expenditures.
Another finding in the report was that there was no established mechanism to facilitate coordination between the ministry and the Social Security Institution regarding the review of documents for overseas medical treatment and the payment of treatment expenses.
Personnel Distribution in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Position Title | Total |
Deputy Minister | 4 |
Diplomatic Career Officers and Senior Management | 2,006 |
Legal Advisor | 18 |
Expert Consultant | 8 |
Consultant | 16 |
Press and Public Relations Advisor | 7 |
Foreign Affairs Specialist | 24 |
Internal Auditor | 1 |
Attaché (Security Officer) | 582 |
Financial Services Specialist | 13 |
Central Staff | 1,053 |
Permanent Worker | 318 |
Contracted Foreign Affairs Legal Specialist | 27 |
Contracted IT Personnel | 25 |
Contracted Service Personnel | 4 |
Contracted Personnel (Abroad) | 3,139 |
Total | 7,245 |
The Court of Accounts report also provided detailed information about the ministry’s personnel structure for 2023.
According to the ministry’s data, as of December 31, 2023 there were a total of 7,245 employees in the ministry’s central and overseas offices. Among these, 1,143 are career officials and 860 are consular and specialized officers. Of the personnel, 56 work in the central office, while 3,139 are employed abroad, resulting in a total of 3,195 contract personnel and 318 permanent staff members.
The most significant shortcoming in the Court of Accounts report is the absence of information regarding the amounts involved in past irregularities and the lack of action taken for transactions that involve criminal elements. A major reason for this is the transformation of the Court of Accounts into an ineffective institution during the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leading to its partisan identity.
Speaking at an event celebrating the 160th anniversary of the Court of Accounts in May 2022, President Erdogan responded to findings from the court’s report that were leaked to the media, stating, “I don’t think the audits of executive institutions should be conducted from the perspective of detecting irregularities and imposing penalties.”
2023 Court of Accounts report on the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
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