Turkish authorities have detained 15 suspects in a capital markets investigation and restricted asset transfers by executives linked to nine financial companies, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said on Sept. 21.
Istanbul prosecutors launched proceedings against 25 suspects over trading in shares of Katılımevim Tasarruf Finansman (KTLEV), he said. Efforts to detain the other 10 were continuing.
Prosecutors said the action followed a Sept. 17 Capital Markets Board (SPK) report on suspected market manipulation.
Gürlek said money and asset transactions had been frozen for executives and officials connected to Pusula Finans Holding, Pusula Yatırım, Tera Yatırım, Tera Portföy, Hedef Holding, Hedef Portföy, Bulls Yatırım, Bulls Portföy and Ufuk Yatırım Yönetim ve Gayrimenkul.
Institutions were also instructed not to process transactions reducing the assets of board members, authorized signatories, their spouses and first-degree blood relatives without informing and consulting prosecutors.
The measures aim to prevent assets from being concealed, transferred to third parties or depleted, Gürlek said.
In a Sept. 17 request, prosecutors asked the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) to examine financial records of executives at Pusula, Tera, Hedef and Bulls group companies and their first-degree relatives.
The review covers overseas money and cryptocurrency transfers since 2024, as well as account inflows and outflows.
Earlier detainees included Tera Yatırım Holding Chairman Emre Tezmen, executives Alper Öztürk, Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin, Pusula executive Serdar Turhan and Doğa Sigorta Chairman Nihat Kırmızı.
Four suspects had previously been remanded in custody, while 51 people were placed under foreign travel bans and asset restrictions.
Media reports said that transfers of $15 million from Turhan’s account and 25 million euros from Pusula Portföy Chairman Muhammed Yarız’s account to accounts in Switzerland.
The SPK halted trading in funds run by seven asset managers on TEFAS, Türkiye’s electronic fund trading platform, on Sept. 17 following defaults on payments to investors seeking to redeem their holdings.
It ordered 131 funds into liquidation.
The regulator authorized private lender İşbank and state-owned Ziraat Bankası to oversee the liquidation processes
In a Sept. 20 decision, the board extended the liquidation period from three months to six, citing the funds’ portfolio structures and market conditions.
The SPK clarified on Sept. 21 that liquidation could be completed before the six-month deadline and that the other liquidation and payment rules remained unchanged.
