Mahmut Sutcu resigned on Monday amid a fund crisis that has unsettled Turkey's markets. He had run the Capital Markets Board, known as the SPK, since May.
His exit lands as officials and the public question whether the regulator failed to stop what the justice minister called a "Ponzi-like scheme" across many prominent investment funds. Prosecutors are examining if Sutcu's predecessor, Ibrahim Omer Gonul, fell short in supervising funds whose striking performance had drawn warnings months before September's failed redemptions sparked a run by investors. Sutcu served as one of Gonul's deputies during that stretch.
In the same probe, officials detained dozens of executives from firms such as Tera Portfoy Yonetimi AS and Pusula Portfoy Yonetimi AS, and they remain in custody awaiting trial. The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index dropped as much as 2.8% and, by 6:00 p.m. in Istanbul, it was down 2.4%.
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Investors had hoped Sutcu would curb funds' exposure to thinly traded shares and improve trading transparency. But an SPK guideline released in August disappointed most market participants and set off heavy withdrawals from some funds.
Liquidity pressures intensified in September after Tera and Pusula - both noted for unusually high returns - were unable to honor some redemption requests. Since then, the SPK has directed 131 funds to liquidate, impacting nearly half a million investors.
"Relevant authorities are introducing important regulations to increase transparency in capital markets and strengthen investor confidence," Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek wrote on X on Friday. He added, "Turkey plans to complete legislative changes in capital markets regulations by the start of 2027 to strengthen efforts to combat offenses, including coordinated transactions by funds." On Oct. 14, during a parliamentary discussion on the liquidations, SPK deputy president Ahment Aksu stated that any assessment of the agency's responsibility would be accepted by the regulator. Sutcu did not attend.
In plain English: regulators are moving to boost transparency now, with broader capital markets law changes targeted for completion by early 2027, while 131 funds proceed through liquidation. That backdrop, plus recent withdrawals, keeps attention on liquidity and pricing in Turkish equities and fund vehicles as the rulebook evolves.
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