Turkish prosecutors have taken steps to freeze the assets of Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, a former minister and top official in the ruling AKP party, amid allegations she profited from an investment fund crisis. Kaya resigned over the weekend, citing a desire to allow an investigation into the allegations to proceed independently and impartially. Her resignation comes after days of speculation and allegations by Turkey's main opposition party.
The allegations against Kaya center on her investment in shares of an investment fund that collapsed earlier this month, triggering a crisis in Turkey's financial markets. According to opposition party Yeni, Kaya and her husband Ilyas Kaya invested 63 million lira ($1.3 million) in April and cashed in their shares in September, earning a profit of around 1.3 billion lira ($26.5 million). Yeni's Gokhan Gunaydın described the allegations as "clear" evidence of insider trading.
Kaya served as Turkey's family minister from 2016-2018 and was deputy head of the AKP party. Her resignation has sparked a wider investigation into the investment fund scandal, which has affected over 455,000 individual investors. The crisis erupted in mid-September when several funds said they were unable to satisfy investor redemption demands, sending Istanbul's main stock exchange tumbling.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his party's record, describing the AKP as "clean" and accusing opposition parties of trying to tarnish its reputation. At a news conference, Erdogan offered a sharp rebuke to his political opponents, saying they had no right to lecture his party on morality and ethics.
Regulators have moved quickly to address the crisis, placing into liquidation seven companies that hold 131 investment funds, whose assets are reportedly worth around $17 billion. The Capital Markets Board (SPK) has said it is working to resolve the crisis and protect the interests of affected investors.
Kaya's husband Ilyas Kaya has also been implicated in the allegations, with prosecutors sending a letter to "all relevant institutions" requesting the freezing of his assets as well. The investigation into Kaya and her husband is ongoing, with Yeni's Gokhan Gunaydın pledging to unveil more names implicated in the scandal.
The investment fund scandal has sparked widespread concern in Turkey, with many investors left uncertain about the fate of their assets. The crisis has also raised questions about the regulation of investment funds in Turkey and the need for greater oversight to prevent similar scandals in the future.
Key points
- Turkish prosecutors have frozen the assets of ex-minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya amid allegations of profiting from a $26m ponzi scheme.
- Kaya resigned as deputy head of the AKP party, citing a desire to allow an investigation into the allegations to proceed independently and impartially.
- The investment fund scandal has affected over 455,000 individual investors, with assets worth around $17 billion reportedly at risk.
