Fifteen more suspects were detained in connection with shares in Katılımevim Tasarruf Finansman AŞ as part of an investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Bureau for Investigating Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering Crimes into capital markets transactions.
Following an examination of financial data requested from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, teams from the Istanbul Police Department’s Financial Crimes Branch took action after determining that market manipulation had allegedly taken place at the company. The suspects for whom detention warrants were issued were taken to police headquarters for processing.
Judicial proceedings initiated against 25 suspects
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said judicial proceedings had been initiated against 25 suspects as part of the investigation into Katılımevim Tasarruf Finansman AŞ’s KTLEV shares, 15 suspects had been detained and efforts to apprehend the 10 fugitive suspects were continuing.
Gürlek said the investigation was being conducted on multiple fronts to protect citizens’ rights, uncover proceeds of crime and ensure that those responsible were held accountable before the courts.
Asset transactions of linked companies frozen
Transactions involving the funds and assets of executives and officials linked to Pusula Finans Holding, Pusula Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Tera Portföy Yönetimi, Hedef Holding, Hedef Portföy Yönetimi, Bulls Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Bulls Portföy Yönetimi and Ufuk Yatırım Yönetim ve Gayrimenkul were frozen as part of the financial aspect of the investigation.
Letters were sent to the Banks Association of Türkiye, the Participation Banks Association of Türkiye, the Union of Notaries of Türkiye, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and MASAK to prevent the assets under investigation from being concealed, transferred to third parties or reduced.
The relevant institutions were informed that transactions capable of reducing the assets of the chairpersons and members of the boards of directors, authorized signatories, spouses and first-degree blood relatives of the named fund companies must not be carried out without the knowledge and opinion of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Capital Markets Board report formed basis of investigation
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the Capital Markets Board’s inspection report dated Sept. 17 determined that market manipulation had been carried out at Katılımevim Tasarruf Finansman AŞ. The investigation continued following this finding and an examination of the financial data.
In a letter sent to MASAK, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office requested financial data on the executives of Pusula Finans Holding, Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Hedef Holding and Bulls Yatırım Menkul Değerler, as well as their subsidiaries.
The examination sought to establish the executives’ full identities and review all inflows and outflows of funds, along with their transfers of money and crypto assets abroad since 2024. The money and crypto-asset transactions of the executives’ first-degree relatives were also included in the investigation.
Eight suspects had previously been detained
At an earlier stage of the investigation, Emre Tezmen, chair of the board of Tera Yatırım Holding; Emre Alkin, a member of the board of Tera Yatırım Holding; Kerem Alkin, an independent board member of Tera Yatırım; Alper Öztürk, general manager of Tera Portföy; and Serdar Turhan, chair of the board of Pusula Holding, had been detained.
Searches had been conducted in the offices of Emre Tezmen and Alper Öztürk. With the detention of Nihat Kırmızı, chair of the board of Doğa Sigorta, and Bülent Uygun and Abdulkadir Özkan, members of the board of Tera Yatırım, the number of people detained in the investigation had risen to eight.
