A financial scandal that has shaken Turkey since mid-September is expanding into the country’s political establishment. Investigators are examining a network of investment companies suspected of participating in an alleged Ponzi-style scheme involving more than €16 billion.
The latest development emerged on October 27, when Turkish media reported that prosecutors in Istanbul had frozen the assets and bank accounts of Fatih Erdogan. He chaired the board of Pasifik Holding, one of dozens of companies reportedly linked by investigators to the alleged fraud. Erdogan is married to Asuman Erdogan, a lawmaker from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in power since 2002.
The disclosure followed the late-September resignation of Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, an AKP deputy chair and former family minister. She and her husband are accused of earning 1.3 billion lira, equivalent to €23 million, by selling their positions in investment funds shortly before the September 16 stock-market collapse. The allegation concerns suspected insider trading.
Other figures connected to the government have also come under scrutiny, including two serving ministers who have denied investing in the allegedly fraudulent funds. AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik has likewise been targeted by several media outlets over the affair.
The reporting has also triggered legal action against journalists. Two were arrested on October 9, while two others were placed under judicial supervision over their publications about the investigation.
The collapse has left around half a million savers waiting to recover their investments, while the inquiry continues to expose financial and political connections within the country’s ruling apparatus.
Sources: Le Monde Économie.