To overcome financial strains and attract more foreign exchange, Ankara last year offered citizenship to foreigners who put money into Turkey. The measure, however, has failed to produce the desired results, prompting plans to lower the bar and “cheapen” citizenship.
In the run-up to the April 16, 2017, referendum, which narrowly approved constitutional changes concentrating power in the hands of the president, the government had enacted a series of measures to revitalize the shrinking economy and safely weather the plebiscite, including tax cuts and the encouragement of cheap loans. Led by public banks, the banking sector issued Treasury-guaranteed loans worth billions of Turkish liras, called “lifeline loans.”
