Turkey Jails Former Minister in Investment Fund Probe

A court in Istanbul has ordered the arrest of Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, a former Turkish family minister and figure in the ruling AK Party, as part of a widening investigation into alleged manipulation of the country’s investment funds. The decision, reported by state-run Anadolu Agency on Friday, makes her the most prominent figure detained so far in a probe that has shaken Türkiye’s financial markets.

Kaya served as minister of family and social services from 2016 to 2018 and, until September, was a deputy chair of the AK Party. She left that post after an opposition politician accused her and her husband of making large profits from share trades before the fund crisis sent the stock market tumbling.

FAKTA

• Who: Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, former family minister (2016–2018) and former AK Party deputy chair
• Charges: violating capital markets law and membership of an organisation formed to commit a crime, prosecutors say
• The claim: an opposition politician says the couple turned investments of about 163 million lira into around 2.17 billion lira (about $43 million)
• Shares at the centre: shipbuilder Ozata Denizcilik, up from about 220 lira in April to 4,980 lira on 15 September
• Scale of the probe: 433 suspects, including 112 people in pretrial detention, according to the justice minister
• Status: investigation ongoing; the allegations have not been tested in court

The case against Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya

Prosecutors say Kaya held undisclosed information likely to influence the price of a capital market instrument and had contacts with Emre Tezmen, a former executive at one of the asset managers at the centre of the turmoil. In September, a spokesman for the opposition Yeni Party said she and her husband, Ilyas Kaya, received about 2.17 billion lira from selling investments bought for around 163 million lira, mainly shares in shipbuilder Ozata Denizcilik.

The shares traded at about 220 lira at the start of April and climbed to 4,980 lira by 15 September. Prosecutors allege Kaya used nonpublic information to sell shares on 16 September, one day before regulators decided to liquidate the investment funds involved. Her husband was questioned in the same investigation and released under judicial measures, including a ban on travelling abroad. Ibrahim Omer Gonul, a former chairman of the Capital Markets Board, was also placed under judicial supervision.

A probe that keeps widening

The investigation began after suspected manipulation of thinly traded stocks triggered a liquidity crisis and sent share prices tumbling on 16 September. Prosecutors are examining alleged market manipulation, insider trading and organised criminal activity involving fund managers, financial executives and former regulators.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Tuesday that the inquiry covers 433 suspects, including 112 people held in pretrial detention and 186 under judicial supervision. The affair has affected the savings of nearly half a million investors, according to reports. Kaya’s arrest is the latest and most high-profile detention in the case. No trial date has been set. More international news is available on the Watan News homepage.