Borsa Istanbul Chief Detained in Bribery Probe as Fund Investigation Widens

The Borsa Istanbul chief detained on Saturday is Korkmaz Enes Ergun, the general manager of Türkiye’s stock exchange, who was taken into custody on suspicion of accepting bribes as part of an investigation into capital market transactions, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported. Reuters, carrying the Anadolu report, said Ergun was detained as part of investigations conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The detention is the latest high-profile arrest in a widening investigation into Türkiye’s investment fund industry, which has already seen regulators order the liquidation of 131 funds and, according to the country’s justice minister earlier in October, 88 suspects arrested in the wider probe.

FAKTA

• Who was detained: Korkmaz Enes Ergun, general manager of Borsa Istanbul, Türkiye’s stock exchange.
• When: Saturday, 31 October 2026.
• Allegations reported: Membership in an organisation established to commit crimes, and bribery, including suspicion of accepting bribes.
• Investigation: Conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into capital market transactions, including investment fund activity.
• Response so far: Representatives of Borsa Istanbul were not immediately available to comment, and no judicial ruling on Ergun’s alleged involvement had been announced.
• Wider probe: Regulators in September ordered the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven asset managers after some reported difficulties meeting investor redemption requests.

Borsa Istanbul chief detained on bribery suspicion

Anadolu Agency reported that Ergun “has been taken into custody as part of the investigation on allegations of ‘membership in an organisation established to commit crimes’ and ‘bribery’.” The agency did not specify its source for the report, and no further details about the specific allegations against Ergun were immediately available.

Reuters reported that representatives of the Istanbul stock exchange were not immediately available to comment on the news, which was widely reported across Turkish media. The investigation remains ongoing, and the reports stress that the case against Ergun concerns allegations at this stage, not a court ruling.

Why the detention matters for Türkiye’s fund industry

Ergun leads the exchange at the centre of the market at the heart of the investigation. Prosecutors are examining capital market transactions, including activities involving investment funds, and the detention of the stock exchange’s own general manager marks a sharp escalation in a probe that had previously focused on fund managers, brokerages and insurers.

Last month, regulators ordered the liquidation of 131 investment funds managed by seven asset management companies after some reported difficulties meeting investor redemption requests. That step, reported by Reuters, underlined how far the fund crisis had spread before Saturday’s detention.

A probe that has already reached insurers and fund managers

Earlier in October, two top executives of the insurer Turkiye Sigorta were detained as part of the same sweeping probe into alleged market manipulation in Turkish funds, Bloomberg reported. One of those executives’ lawyers said his client denied all wrongdoing and planned to appeal the arrest.

Prosecutors have said they are investigating a scheme in which local investment funds bought shares in often-obscure companies and then inflated their values many times over, Bloomberg reported. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a social media post earlier in October that 88 suspects had been arrested so far in the wider investigation.

No further details about Ergun’s detention, including any court appearance or formal charge, had been reported at the time of writing. For more business coverage, see Watan News business news.