A total of 45 people have been arrested in Turkey in an investigation into a scandal involving investment funds, Turkish authorities said, as the finance minister denied rumors that he had resigned.
"Legal proceedings have been initiated against a total of 76 suspects, 45 of whom have been arrested," Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a post on X.
"The assets of all fund owners and suspects holding managerial positions have been seized. The assets of their immediate family members have been frozen," he added.
According to Turkish media, those arrested include Erkan Kilimci, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank.
Prosecutors are investigating fraudulent activities by 131 investment funds owned by seven companies, whose assets total more than 826 billion Turkish liras (about 15 million euros), according to Turkish media estimates.
All were placed under liquidation on September 17 by the Turkish Capital Markets Authority (SPK), which said it managed the assets of more than 455,000 private investors.
Last night, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek dismissed as "baseless" rumors about his departure.
"Such speculations, which target the economic stability of our country, should not be taken seriously," he said in a post on X.
The problems began when the SPK issued guidelines on August 28, instructing funds to no longer invest all their assets in a single stock and to diversify their portfolios.
To comply with the new rules, funds began selling shares and investors began withdrawing. Then, some funds said they were unable to liquidate their assets quickly enough.
The investigation focuses in particular on allegations of organized crime, state fraud and violations of financial markets law, as well as tax evasion.
However, more and more people are questioning the inability of regulators to intervene earlier in this case.
