Turkish prosecutors have moved to freeze the assets of former Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya and her husband, Ilyas Kaya, amid an investigation into an investment fund scandal.
Prosecutors sent instructions to relevant institutions to freeze their assets as authorities investigate alleged financial irregularities linked to a wider investment fund crisis.
Kaya, who served as minister from 2016 to 2018 and later became a senior official of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, resigned from her party position over the allegations.
The allegations centre on claims that Kaya and her husband invested about 63 million Turkish lira, roughly $1.3 million, in shares in April and later sold them for about 1.3 billion lira, or approximately $26.5 million.
Kaya has not admitted wrongdoing. She said she resigned to take political responsibility and allow the allegations to be investigated independently and impartially.
The wider scandal involves allegations of market manipulation and a Ponzi-like investment scheme. Turkish authorities have investigated dozens of individuals, companies and investment funds, with hundreds of thousands of investors reportedly affected.
Authorities previously froze assets belonging to 46 companies, 18 funds and 42 individuals as part of the investigation. Some of the asset-freezing measures against companies and funds were later lifted following further assessments.
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