Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, former Family and Social Services Minister, was arrested in a fund investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Bureau for Investigating Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering Crimes. After giving her statement to prosecutors, Kaya was referred to the criminal judgeship of peace on duty with a request for her arrest. The judgeship ordered her arrest on charges of violating the Capital Markets Law and membership in an organization established to commit crimes.
In the same investigation, judicial control measures consisting of a signature requirement and a ban on leaving Türkiye were imposed on Kaya's husband, İlyas Kaya, and former Capital Markets Board (CMB) Chairman İbrahim Ömer Gönül, who gave statements as suspects. The three individuals had come to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan on November 5 to give statements for a second time.
According to the prosecution's referral document, the CMB examined the shares of Özata Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ traded on the stock exchange under the ticker OZATD. The board filed a criminal complaint after preparing a report stating that Kaya possessed undisclosed information that could affect the share price or investors' decisions. The prosecution said it had determined that Tera Group made intensive purchases of OZATD shares through its companies and funds.
The document said Kaya stated in her testimony that she had known Erdin Özel, one of the Tera Group executives, for some time and that they had maintained extensive communications during the share investment process. It also recorded that Kaya said she had spoken with Emre Tezmen, chairman of the Tera Group board, and that records of transactions and statements confirmed she had opened an investment account within Tera.
The transaction under scrutiny by the prosecution was the transfer of shares on September 16. According to the referral document, Kaya acquired the OZATD shares in April 2026. One day before the liquidation decision concerning the funds was taken on September 17, the shares were transferred to Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler AŞ through an off-market book-entry transfer without being sold, and the proceeds were deposited into Kaya's account the same day. The prosecution noted that settlement, which normally takes two business days, was completed on the same day in this transaction.
Speaking on November 5, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said all transactions involving the funds, from their establishment to their closure, were being examined. Şimşek said there was no obstacle to disclosing the fund lists and that he personally preferred for them to be made public.
