Turkey Moves to Freeze Assets of Ex-Minister Over Fund Crisis Profits

Prosecutors in Istanbul have initiated asset-freeze proceedings against former family minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and her spouse, İlyas Kaya, citing suspicions that they capitalised on the September investment-fund crisis. The chief prosecutor’s office dispatched formal notices to relevant institutions to block all of the couple’s assets. Kaya, who previously served as deputy chair of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, stepped down from her party roles to ensure a neutral investigation.

Opposition spokesperson Zeynel Emre alleges the pair bought shares in shipbuilder Özata Denizcilik for 63.4 million lira in April and later sold them for about 1.34 billion lira, with the husband also making hundreds of millions from comparable trades. While the claims remain unproven and no formal charges have been filed, the case adds to a broader probe into alleged market manipulation, arrests and asset freezes linked to the fund collapse that affected roughly $18 billion in assets.