Turkish court detains 15 more suspects in investment fund scandal, total jailed reaches 114

On Saturday, an Istanbul court ordered the pre-trial detention of 15 additional individuals linked to Turkey's investment fund crisis, bringing the total number of jailed suspects to 114. Among those detained were İnan Altınbaş of Altınbaş Holding and former central bank deputy governor Taha Çakmak; seven other suspects were placed under judicial supervision. Çakmak, who stepped down from the head of Türkiye Sigorta on October 15 after earlier questioning, was arrested again on accusations of receiving a $1 million payment from the Tera financial group in exchange for steering insurer assets into its funds.

The investigation follows a September collapse when numerous funds could not meet withdrawal demands, leaving nearly half a million investors unable to access their savings. Prosecutors allege that the funds purchased shares in obscure companies to artificially boost prices. In response, the Capital Markets Board ordered the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven firms, and parliament approved a law to facilitate interim repayments and asset recovery.