Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya stepped back from her AK Party post after an opposition spokesman alleged she and her husband traded in Ozata Denizcilik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS. Late Saturday, Kaya, formerly the family and social policies minister, said she asked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who leads the party, to relieve her of the role so the allegations could be reviewed without her position influencing the process. In a post on X, she said she wanted the matter clarified "without leaving any room for doubt."
Zeynel Emre of the New Party said Kaya purchased roughly 63.4 million liras ($1.3 million) of Ozata shares in April and sold the stake in September for around 1.34 billion liras after a powerful run-up in the stock. He also claimed her husband put in about 99.7 million liras and subsequently took out roughly 826 million liras. According to Emre, the share disposals were finished ahead of Sept. 16, when fund stress hit the stock market, and he questioned whether the timing implied advance knowledge.
He further alleged the proceeds moved through multiple accounts, including one outside Turkey. Those assertions have not been independently confirmed. Kaya did not return Bloomberg's phone calls or messages requesting comment.
Turkey's Capital Markets Board, known as the SPK, said Friday it had submitted criminal complaints concerning 11 individuals over trades in Ozata shares, naming Tera Investment Holding Chairman Emre Tezmen among them along with others tied to Tera. The regulator also ordered two-year trading prohibitions for the 11 individuals as well as for Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler and Tera Portfoy Yonetimi AS in relation to dealings in Ozata shares. Kaya and her spouse were not among those listed.
Ozata said in a statement that Chairman Ozdemir Ataseven and Vice Chairman Gokhan Ataseven were arrested. Prosecutors broadened their capital-markets investigation, detaining and arresting senior figures linked to Tera as well as to Pusula Portfoy Yonetimi AS. Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board, or MASAK, provided prosecutors information about prior shareholders in the funds being examined, and officials have been scrutinizing money flows and possible transfers of assets.
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This political twist stems from a broader market break that started with liquidity strains at funds concentrated in thinly traded Turkish shares. On Sept. 17, authorities ordered the wind-down of 131 funds run by seven portfolio firms. By SPK's tally, those vehicles had about $20 billion in reported assets and 455,758 individual investors. Subsequent forced selling pummeled Borsa Istanbul, while at the same time regulators and the central bank introduced steps to bolster market liquidity.
Erdogan has cast the turmoil as limited to a narrow slice of the market and said it does not threaten Turkey's financial system or economy, while vowing accountability for any wrongdoing.
Bottom line for everyday investors: politics and regulation are now part of the price action in Turkey, and probes, trading bans and liquidations can all ripple into how quickly money moves in and out of riskier corners of a market.
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