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Huseyin Gun, a Turkish financier and technology investor with an international profile, has come under scrutiny following his arrest in July 2025 on espionage charges. Although his name has surfaced prominently in recent weeks, little verified information about him is publicly available.
According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Gun was detained on July 4 for “espionage activities” allegedly involving foreign intelligence agencies. The ongoing investigation is based on digital materials seized during his arrest.
Public records and archived company data show that Huseyin Gun has held executive and advisory positions in various financial and technology firms. He has been listed as a managing director of Avicenna Capital, a privately held direct investment vehicle focusing on natural resources, financial services, and energy across emerging and frontier markets.
Gun’s name also appears on the U.K. government’s Companies House registry, where he is identified as a board member of a Canadian technology firm. His biography on different corporate and institutional platforms describes him as a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London and the honorary ambassador of the Israeli Peace Initiative.
He is said to have previously served as chairman of the advisory board of the Global Fairness Initiative in Washington, D.C., where former U.S. President Bill Clinton chaired the board of directors. Additionally, he has been cited as a founder board member of the Iraq-Britain Business Council and a founding trustee of the Omar Al-Mukhtar Foundation for Libya.
Gun holds an honors degree in genetics and is reported to have earlier worked as a banker at Merrill Lynch and Credit Agricole. His investment office has been described as operating in the U.S., U.K., Israel, and Türkiye, with partnerships involving universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, METU (ODTU), MIT, ETH Zurich, and Technion.
He has also been associated with Jordanian Prince El Hassan bin Talal’s WANA Forum Advisory Council and served on the International Advisory Board of the Global Strategy Forum in London.
In June 2011, he published a paper titled “Creating a Middle Eastern Economic Community” and took part in a debate hosted by former U.K. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, discussing Türkiye’s 2011 general elections and their regional implications.
According to previous profiles, Gun is involved in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, blockchain, social media, and Web 3.0. His stated interests include AI infrastructure, big data, and combating disinformation and information warfare, alongside research into human decision-making processes.
He is also said to have been a principal investor in frontier markets across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) before expanding into technology ventures.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that Gun maintained contact with foreign intelligence operatives and conducted encrypted communications through secure platforms. Authorities allege that he gave “instructions” to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) consultant Necati Ozkan and exchanged messages with journalist Merdan Yanardag regarding “espionage activities.”
According to the statement, Gun’s communications and financial transactions are under review. Investigators claim to have found classified military images, foreign passport photographs, and notes referring to internal conflicts and coup attempts in various countries within their seized materials.
The findings reportedly indicate connections with individuals previously investigated under FETO/PDY and PKK/KCK cases, as well as contact with several foreign consular officials. One of the central elements of the case involves Gun’s alleged correspondence with Christopher Paul McGrath, a British cybersecurity and risk-intelligence consultant with a reported background in the U.K. military and intelligence community.
According to Turkish investigation documents, McGrath previously held positions at Clearwater Dynamics, X212 Limited, and PRODAFT UK Limited, and had served for more than a decade in counterintelligence and counterterrorism operations within British intelligence circles before transitioning to the private sector.
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Authorities claim that digital materials seized from Gun’s devices contained encrypted WhatsApp communications with McGrath, in which both parties used coded terms allegedly referring to state officials and intelligence agencies such as MI6. One of the alleged messages reportedly involved a covertly taken photo of former Turkish ministers, which prosecutors describe as an example of “political espionage activity.”
While McGrath’s professional background and corporate affiliations are publicly verifiable, no independent evidence has yet confirmed any formal business or financial partnership between him and Huseyin Gun outside the scope of the ongoing Turkish investigation.
Prosecutors further allege that approximately ₺85 million ($2.03 million) in unaccounted financial transfers were identified in Gun’s accounts despite the absence of any active business entity.
Authorities also claim that Gun was involved in activities related to data leaks during the 2019 local elections, including the alleged transfer of voter and citizen data collected through IBB applications such as “Istanbul Senin” and “IBB Hanem.”
Investigators state that Gun acted in a managerial role within an organized network that allegedly sought to manipulate election results and collect personal data for intelligence purposes.
The prosecutor’s office announced that 15 individuals have been detained as part of the broader espionage investigation. Among those named are former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, his campaign director Ozkan, and journalist Yanardag, who are accused of cooperating with foreign intelligence networks during election processes.
In 2017, Huseyin Gun was investigated for alleged membership in an armed organization linked to the FETO network. That case concluded with a decision of non-prosecution (“no grounds for legal action”).
However, the prosecutor’s office recently stated that claims linking Gun to that earlier investigation were “disinformation.”
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