Twenty suspects detained as part of the investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Bureau for Investigating Crimes of Financing Terrorism and Money Laundering into transactions conducted in the capital markets were arrested following proceedings before the criminal judgeship of peace.
In line with the prosecutor's request, the judgeship ordered the arrest of Ali Serhat Tüzün, Ali Yöney, Alper Tunga Sagu Burak, Burak Sevindik, Fırat Kerim Ersoy, Gökhan Koçyiğit, Gürsel Akça, İdris Çakır, Jeremy Etienne Debost, Tahir Fatih Mutlu, Mücahit Acaralp, Nil Özalp, Tuncer Köklü, Yasemin Yavuz Koçyiğit, Ali Göl, Hüseyin Emre Güner, İhsan Çimen, Mesut Yalım, Osman Sungur and Erol Demirbaş.
Scope of the investigation
On September 17, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office requested, in a letter sent to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, that financial data on the managers of Pusula Finans Holding Inc., Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler Inc., Hedef Holding Inc. and Bulls Yatırım Menkul Değerler Inc., as well as their subsidiaries, be obtained.
The letter requested that the managers' clear identity details be established and that raw data on money and crypto-asset transfers abroad, as well as all money inflows and outflows, from 2024 onward be sent to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
65 people had previously been arrested
In earlier stages of the investigation, several people were arrested, including Tera Yatırım Holding Board Chairman Emre Tezmen, Tera Yatırım Holding Board Member Emre Alkin, Tera Yatırım Independent Board Member Kerem Alkin, Tera Portföy General Manager Alper Öztürk, Pusula Holding Board Chairman Serdar Turhan and Pusula Portföy Yönetimi Inc. Board Chairman Muhammed Yarız.
Namık Kemal Gökalp, Altunç Kumova and İbrahim Bekçi were also among those arrested as part of the same investigation. Arrest warrants were also issued for Doğa Sigorta Board Chairman Nihat Kırmızı and Tera Yatırım Board members Bülent Uygun and Abdulkadir Özkan.
The number of people in custody in the investigation had reached 65 after 53 suspects, including Tera Yatırım Chief Executive Officer Emir Münir Sarpyener and Tera Portföy Board Chairman Erdin Özel, were arrested.
Enver Çevik and Kemal Akkaya, who had been detained, were released after giving statements to the prosecutor's office. Following the arrest orders issued after the latest 20 suspects were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse yesterday, the total number rose to 85.
The number of suspects subject to legal proceedings in the investigations has thus risen to 217. Of these, 85 have been arrested and 98 placed under judicial control measures. Following new assessments by the Capital Markets Board and related boards, measures against 45 companies and 19 funds, including asset freezes, were lifted on September 27, while measures against individuals remain in place.
