Former Minister Sayan Kaya and two suspects questioned for 9 hours

Statements from former Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, her husband İlyas Kaya and former Capital Markets Board (SPK) Chairman İbrahim Ömer Gönül lasted approximately 9 hours after they were recalled for questioning as suspects in the fund investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Former Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, her husband İlyas Kaya and former Capital Markets Board (SPK) Chairman İbrahim Ömer Gönül gave statements to the prosecutor's office in the fund investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The questioning of the three individuals, who were summoned as suspects, lasted approximately 9 hours.

The Kaya couple is alleged to have made illicit gains from one of the funds liquidated by the SPK. Gönül is alleged to have abused his office in connection with the rapid rise in the funds; the Ministry of Treasury and Finance had authorized an investigation into this allegation. Gönül, who was chairman of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority, was removed from office on October 19.

In their first statements on October 7, the Kaya couple maintained that they had not received special information or guidance regarding the buying and selling of Özata Denizcilik shares. İlyas Kaya said he had purchased approximately 150,000 lots of shares in April, while Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya said she had purchased approximately 250,000 lots during the same period and sold them around the same dates as her husband. It was alleged that the couple had returned gains exceeding 2 billion liras, and Sayan Kaya resigned from the AK Party.

As of November 4, 112 people were being held in pretrial detention in the fund investigation, which intensified in mid-September. Former Borsa İstanbul General Manager Korkmaz Enes Ergun was the latest person to be arrested in the investigation.