Turkey Fund Scandal: 45 Arrested as MASAK Sends Shareholder Records to Prosecutors

Turkey's investment fund crisis has widened significantly, with authorities arresting 45 people and sending shareholder records for five funds to Istanbul prosecutors. The scandal centers on several investment firms that allegedly operated a scheme promising high returns before collapsing when new money stopped flowing in.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) handed over shareholder records for five investment funds to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, according to reports [1]. The records cover a period when the funds — Pusula Finans, Tera Yatırım, Hedef Holding and Bulls Yatırım — were not yet trading on TEFAS, Turkey's state-run electronic fund trading platform. During that time, investor access to the funds was limited [1].

Turkish authorities have arrested 19 more people in the ongoing investigation, bringing the total number of arrests to 45 [2]. Earlier, five executives were arrested, including Serdar Turhan, a manager at Pusula Portföy, and Alper Öztürk, a manager at Tera. Also detained were Emre Tezmen, chairman of Tera Yatırım Holding, along with managers Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin [3].

Istanbul prosecutors initially arrested 14 of 17 people detained in connection with the fund investigation. Three others were released under judicial control [4].

Authorities have also frozen assets linked to executives at several investment firms as part of the expanding probe [5]. The crisis has caused redemption failures, arrests, and a sharp selloff in stocks.

The government stepped in to calm nervous markets after the fund crisis triggered a wave of selling. The crisis began when a major fund failed to meet its obligations, setting off a selloff as investors rushed to unload Turkish assets [6]. Officials pledged to support the markets and said they would take steps to protect investors.

The scheme has been described as a "Ponzi" operation — a system that pays early investors with money from new investors rather than from real profits. The scheme attracted investors with promises of high returns, but when new money slowed, it could not pay people back and collapsed [7]. Many ordinary investors lost money, and the exact total is not yet clear.

Turkish MP Ahmet Şık, an Istanbul representative from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP), has formally asked Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek to investigate claims that political and bureaucratic figures — including Justice Minister Akın Gürlek — invested in Tera Portföy's TLY fund during a closed period when outside investors were barred [8]. A closed period is a window in which a fund stops accepting new money, typically to protect existing investors. The allegations suggest insiders gained access to the fund before the public could.

Şık also asked Şimşek to identify three individuals: Mehmet Türkoğlu, Osman Dündar Çiftçi, and Hayrettin Koç, seeking to know their role in what he calls the latest financial scandal [9]. The ministry has not yet responded publicly.

Meanwhile, Turkey has blocked access to economic news about the fund crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of investors, citing "national security and public order" as the reason [10]. Authorities also restricted the social media accounts of economists and journalists covering the crisis.