Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office: 302 suspects, 86 arrested, 2 billion lira returned to TMSF account

The judicial picture has become clear in the investigation conducted by Istanbul's Chief Prosecutor's Office into manipulative transactions on Borsa Istanbul and portfolio management companies. To date, judicial proceedings have been initiated against 302 suspects: 86 have been arrested, 163 placed under judicial supervision, and arrest warrants have been issued for 35 fugitive suspects.

One of the notable aspects of the investigation has been the restitution of funds by the suspects. According to Ekonomim, a total of 2 billion 1 million 170 thousand lira has been deposited into a special voluntary restitution account opened at the United Funds Bank under TMSF by 9 individuals. The payments are being evaluated within the scope of effective remorse provisions and voluntary restitution procedures.

According to correspondence sent by the Chief Prosecutor's Office to the SPK and investigation documents, some share prices were increased as much as 100-fold through manipulation. The SPK, meanwhile, took a separate step this week by placing Hedef Portföy funds into ordinary liquidation and filed complaints against 37 people — 22 related to Vişne Madencilik transactions and 15 related to Işıklar Enerji transactions.

Being the first major investigation balance sheet of the fund crisis is significant in its scope: it is being recorded as the most comprehensive financial crime operation seen in Turkey's markets since 2013.