Erdogan orders to stop using US firm McKinsey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday he had ordered his ministers to stop receiving consulting services from US firm McKinsey after a government deal with it came under fire from the main opposition.

Last month, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law, said Turkey had decided to work with McKinsey to help implement a new medium-term economic programme. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), this week accused Erdogan of siding with US firms at a time when relations with Washington have been hit by the detention of an American pastor in Turkey and other issues.

Albayrak had defended the agreement with McKinsey earlier this week, saying anyone who did not want Turkey to work with McKinsey was “either ignorant or a traitor.”