Hafize Gaye Erkan, who served for less than a year as Turkey’s first woman central bank governor, is under legal attack from neighbors in a luxury Bodrum resort who say she has made their lives unbearable.
Erkan, 47, and her family have been sent a formal warning from other residents of the gated community attached to the local Swissotel, according to the Ekonomim financial news platform. The complaint accuses the family of monopolizing the complex’s buggies, illegally occupying common areas, and threatening staff and other guests.
Erkan has not commented in public on the accusations.
The warning has been followed up by lawsuits filed by the complex manager Ertuğrul Kara and Swissotel manager Ali Şen, according to the T24 website. They say the Erkans have threatened and insulted staff, made unreasonable demands, and caused financial damage to the Swissotel.
Erkan’s brief stint at the central bank in late 2023 was also plagued by reports that she had put bank facilities at the sole disposal of her family and bullied staff. She resigned in February 2024, saying she was the victim of a “reputational assassination”. In late 2025, she joined Canadian investment firm Fairfax as president of banking and insurtech.
