Eighteen billion dollars in liquidation and more than 350,000 citizens seeing their money frozen. That is the scale of the crisis that has led to a sweeping wave of arrests of top financial sector executives in Turkey .
The arrests are part of an extensive investigation into the massive capital outflows from investment funds , which were recorded during the week. At the same time, prosecutors imposed strict restrictive measures and a ban on leaving the country on a number of other individuals involved.
According to official announcements from the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office , those arrested include the president of Pusula Portföy Yönetimi , Mehmet Yariz . Also handcuffed was the president of Destek Holding , Altınç Kumova , who was formally seen as one of the richest people in the neighboring country, following the impressive rally in the shares of his companies.
The police operation also extended to other managers in the asset management industry. The deputy CEO of Tera Portföy Yönetimi , İbrahim Bekçi , and the chairman of Hedef Holding , Namik Kemal Gökalp , were arrested.
Different criminal treatment was reserved for the president of Tera Holding , Emre Tezmen , and for Serdar Tohran of Pusula Holding , who were imposed an administrative measure of immediate prohibition on leaving Turkish territory.
The arrests are, in effect, the culmination of measures taken by the supervisory authorities to clean up the market. An immediate freeze on trading in seven portfolio management companies was ordered and 130 investment funds were placed under liquidation , including funds managed by Tera and Pusula.
The size of the case is what gives it a national dimension. The total value of investments in the funds under liquidation reaches $18 billion , while the exposure of private investors is considered enormous, with more than 350,000 citizens directly affected.
This is, in other words, a crisis that is not limited to professional managers and institutional portfolios. It affects hundreds of thousands of households who, in an environment of high inflation and a persistent depreciation of the lira, turned to investment products in search of protection for their savings. How much of these funds will be recovered and over what time frame remains, for now, a completely open question.
