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World

Turkey lifts asset freezes on 46 companies as fund-probe fallout topples Erdogan party deputy chair

Turkish authorities lifted asset-freeze orders on 46 companies in an investment-fund probe on Monday, two days after AK Party deputy chair Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya resigned over allegations she and her husband made about $44 million trading shipbuilder shares ahead of a market crash.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 2 min read

Turkish authorities lifted asset-freeze orders imposed on 46 companies as part of an investigation into investment funds and alleged market manipulation, broadcaster NTV and other media reported on Monday.

The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the decision followed new assessments and notifications from the country’s Capital Markets Board (SPK), NTV reported. The companies were among dozens of legal entities, investment funds and individuals whose assets were frozen as investigators examined large stock market transactions carried out between July and September 16 — the day before the SPK ordered the liquidation of scores of funds during a liquidity crisis. In total, authorities froze the assets of 46 companies, 18 funds and 42 individuals and imposed overseas travel bans on 37 people.

The move comes two days after Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, a deputy chair of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party responsible for social policies and a former family minister, resigned from her party posts. Main opposition Yeni Party spokesman Zeynel Emre alleged at a press conference on Saturday that Kaya and her husband Ilyas Kaya invested a combined 163 million lira (about $3.3 million) in April, mainly in shares of shipbuilder Ozata Denizcilik, and later received about 2.17 billion lira (about $44 million) from selling them.

Kaya said on X that she considered it necessary to take political responsibility while the allegations were examined and asked Erdogan to relieve her of all the posts she holds. She did not comment further on the specifics of the allegation. In a separate development, Ozata Denizcilik said in a regulatory filing on Friday that its chairman and vice chairman, Ozdemir Ataseven and Gokhan Ataseven, had been jailed pending trial.

The crisis erupted after suspected price manipulation in thinly traded stocks triggered heavy losses and redemption pressures at investment funds, prompting emergency measures by regulators to support financial stability.

Sources

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