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Former Turkish Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya and her husband, Ilyas Kaya, will testify to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office over their alleged insider trading in one of the stocks at the center of the ongoing market probe, Turkish media reported.
Kaya's testimony comes after authorities imposed measures on her assets, and she and her husband returned the portion of their investments outside the principal through a voluntary repayment mechanism overseen by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).
The couple came under scrutiny in an investigation into irregularities in transactions in Türkiye's capital markets.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office sent earlier requests to relevant institutions to freeze the assets of Kaya, her husband, and other individuals under investigation.
Kaya's name drew particular attention for transactions involving Ozata Denizcilik shares, one of the stocks the Capital Market Boards (CMB) filed a complaint about in September over abnormal price movements.
According to information reported publicly, Kaya and her husband allegedly invested a combined ₺163.1 million ($3.3 million) and withdrew about ₺2.1 billion ($42.7 million), generating roughly 1,188% profit in just four months before the fund turmoil unfolded in September.
Kaya stepped down as an AK Party deputy chair and from her other party posts in late September following the allegations.
After their accounts were frozen, Kaya and her husband applied to use a voluntary repayment mechanism established by the CMB.
Following authorization from the chief prosecutor's office, the couple transferred the portion of their investments outside the principal into a voluntary repayment account under TMSF.
Turkish authorities are continuing a broad market investigation that widened after the September market rout, which began as several portfolio management companies offering investors sharply higher returns through concentrated stock holdings came under heavy selling pressure and faced a liquidity crunch.
The CMB has ordered the liquidation of 131 investment funds run by seven portfolio companies, affecting 455,758 individual investors and more than $19 billion in assets at that time.
Prosecutors are looking into trading in 26 Borsa Istanbul-listed stocks over suspected market manipulation while also tracing money transfers and links to individuals and accounts that recorded unusually large gains.
The probe has grown to 217 suspects. Of those, 85 have been arrested and 98 placed under judicial control.
Among those arrested are Tera Yatirim Holding Chairperson Emre Tezmen, Tera board members Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin, Tera Portfoy General Manager Alper Ozturk, and Pusula Holding Chairperson Serdar Turhan.
Authorities are also looking into financial transactions involving executives and their relatives, including bank activity, money transfers, and cryptocurrency movements abroad dating back to 2024.
They have frozen assets belonging to dozens of suspects and seized luxury vehicles, private jets and yachts allegedly linked to people under investigation.
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