Former Turkish minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was remanded in custody in Istanbul as part of an investigation into alleged market manipulation involving investment funds. The court issued its order on November 5, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Kaya faces investigation on suspicion of violating capital markets law and belonging to an organization allegedly formed to commit crimes. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court. Her husband and former Capital Markets Board head İbrahim Ömer Gönül were placed under judicial control, Anadolu reported, including a requirement to report to authorities and a travel ban.
Kaya served as family minister from 2016 to 2018 and was until recently a deputy chair of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). She resigned from the party post on September 26 after allegations connected her and her husband to gains from an investment fund scandal.
Opposition politician Zeynel Emre alleged that the couple received 2.17 billion lira, about $43 million, after investing 163 million lira in one fund and selling their shares shortly before suspected manipulation triggered a market crisis. Kaya and her husband have denied wrongdoing. They transferred some of the money under scrutiny to an account designated by banking regulators, according to the report.
The investigation has widened beyond the couple. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said more than 430 people were being investigated over suspected market manipulation and insider trading, with 112 arrested. The financial regulator dissolved 131 funds following the allegations.
Anadolu reported the court’s detention order and the measures imposed on other suspects in the case.
Nicole French