Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, 27 September 2026, accepted Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya’s request to be relieved of her leadership posts in the ruling Justice and Development Party, after an opposition politician accused her and her husband of share transactions preceding a crisis in the investment fund sector and a sharp fall in the Turkish stock market.
Party spokesman Ömer Çelik said Erdoğan had approved Kaya’s request, explaining that she was no longer a member of the party’s executive and decision-making bodies. He added that anyone proven to have been involved in violations, corruption or abuse of power would be held accountable, stressing that the authorities would act without leniency against any wrongdoing.
Kaya seeks resignation to allow allegations to be examined
Kaya, the party’s deputy chair responsible for social policies and a former minister of family and social policies between 2016 and 2018, announced on Saturday evening that she had asked Erdoğan to relieve her of all her duties so the allegations could be examined without her position becoming a subject of controversy or affecting the course of the investigations.
Kaya said responsibility in political work was not limited to the legal aspect, but also included assuming political and moral responsibility when necessary. She added that she had taken the decision to ensure that the examination and investigation procedures were completed independently and properly, and that the allegations were clarified from all angles, without directly addressing details of the transactions attributed to her and her husband.
Opposition presents figures on share transactions
The resignation came after Zeynel Emre, spokesman for the opposition Yeni Party, accused Kaya and her husband, İlyas Kaya, at a press conference on Saturday of investing a total of 163 million Turkish liras, equivalent to 3.3 million US dollars, in April 2026, mainly in shares of Ozata Denizcilik, a shipbuilding company.
He said they later obtained about 2.17 billion liras, or nearly 44 million US dollars, from selling the shares. These figures and facts remain allegations attributed to the opposition politician. According to Emre, Kaya invested about 63.4 million liras in the shares, while her husband invested approximately 99.7 million liras.
He said the timing of the share purchases and sales raised questions, given that the sales were carried out before turmoil hit the investment fund sector and caused share prices to fall. Ozata Denizcilik shares were trading at about 220 liras in early April before rising to 4,980 liras on 15 September.
Liquidity crisis hits investment funds
Çelik said the problem was concentrated in a limited part of the capital market and a certain number of funds, and that, according to the party’s assessment, it did not pose a systemic risk to Turkey’s financial system or economy.
Judicial measures to freeze assets and pursue suspects
Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the authorities had examined withdrawals from the funds during the period from 1 July to 16 September. He added that the measures included freezing the assets of 46 legal entities, 18 funds and 42 individuals, as well as imposing a travel ban as part of judicial supervision on 37 suspects.
Gürlek said the investigation concerned suspicions of establishing or joining a criminal organisation, aggravated fraud, laundering proceeds of crime and violating the Capital Markets Law. He stressed that work was continuing to trace the flow of funds and protect the rights of affected investors.
In a development linked to the investigation into the fund crisis, Ozata Denizcilik said in a regulatory disclosure that its chairman, Özdemir Atasifin, and deputy chairman, Gökhan Atasifin, had been remanded in custody pending trial. Turkish authorities are continuing to investigate transactions involving the funds and shares, as well as the entities and people linked to them.
