Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz answered questions on Anadolu Agency's (AA) Editor's Desk program about the liquidation of funds founded by the portfolio management companies A1 Capital, Bulls and Pardus, and about the ongoing investigation.
Using an example to explain the arrangement prepared for payments to investors, Yılmaz said: "We are designing a system that will make payments based on the net investment amount. For example, you invested 1 million lira, made 2 million lira in profit and withdrew that profit earlier. If 1 million lira remains in your account, you will not be paid another 1 million lira, because you have already recovered your principal."
Yılmaz said those who had already collected their profits would not be on the list of affected investors, adding: "The proposal has not yet passed parliament. The final decision will be parliament's."
"46,000 people have entered the liquidation process"
Yılmaz said the decision to liquidate the funds very quickly was made so that a problem in one segment of the fund market would not damage the overall structure. "We can say that 46,000 people have entered the liquidation process through ordinary procedures. A1 Capital, Bulls and Pardus have been liquidated. Of the 7 companies, 3 are out and 4 remain," he said.
Yılmaz said investigations and inquiries were continuing into people who obtained very high, exorbitant returns or made unjust gains through unlawful transactions, adding that the State Supervisory Council had begun fieldwork with around 15 auditors and inspectors, covering all relevant institutions.
"A crime is a crime, a criminal is a criminal"
Stressing that the investigation would spare no one, Yılmaz said: "If anyone has committed an act that amounts to a crime, the necessary action will be taken, even if they are among those closest to us, in our party or in the bureaucracy. This is the AK Party's approach. It makes no difference whether someone is my relative, someone else's relative or a member of this or that party; the necessary action will be taken. A crime is a crime, a criminal is a criminal."
The Capital Markets Board (SPK) placed the funds founded by A1 Capital, Bulls and Pardus on the liquidation list in decisions dated Sept. 17. According to an SPK announcement on Oct. 1, the liquidation is being carried out starting with funds that have "money market" in their names, moving from the fund with the most investors to the one with the fewest. As of Oct. 8, the liquidation of 17 funds had reached its final stage, and payments had begun to be transferred to banks and brokerage firms through Ziraat Bank.
