The Trail Of The Scandal Ends İn The Same Place

Politics Service

The fund heist, regarded as the biggest organised robbery in the history of the Republic, has become a stumbling block for the government. Whilst the perception that the government is using all its resources to get to the bottom of the heist fails to convince the public, panic is mounting within the AKP. As public opinion polls reflect the government’s loss of support, views suggesting the scandal is being covered up are gaining prominence in the surveys.

As the investigation continues, Umut Güner, owner of the Dünya newspaper, was taken into custody yesterday, following the arrest of Korkmaz Enes Ergun, General Manager of Borsa İstanbul AŞ. It is alleged that Dünya Holding, to which the Dünya newspaper is affiliated, holds a 20 % stake in Bulls Yatırım Holding, a company that came under scrutiny following the emergence of the fund scandal. Atila Türeli has been appointed acting head of Borsa Istanbul.

The fact that political authorities have not been sufficiently involved in the investigation into this embezzlement scheme – which is of a scale that could bring the country’s economy to a standstill – reinforces the perception that the boundaries of the investigation are being dictated by the regime. To date, the number of detainees in the investigation has exceeded 120, whilst legal proceedings have been initiated against more than 280 suspects. It is noteworthy, however, that the political figures who have been detained and implicated in the investigation since the scandal came to light have been limited to former figures on the periphery of the ruling party.

Yusuf Beyazıt, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and AKP MP for Tokat, commented on the fund embezzlement scandal. Beyazıt: “Of course, during the course of administration, there will be shortcomings, mistakes, or those who err in certain practices. Such situations may arise due to intent, negligence, or fault. From the very moment the fund scandal came to light, our President has taken a clear stance. There is absolutely no question of covering up this incident. In this context, judicial, administrative, and legal proceedings have been initiated simultaneously,” he said. Beyazıt also rejected claims that the victims’ losses would be covered by the Treasury, stating: “I assure you: not a single kuruş has ever been paid by the state, nor will it ever be. Payments will be made entirely from the assets and funds of those who carried out the manipulation during this process.” Meanwhile, Bülent Arınç, one of the founders of the AKP and former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, reposted a speech he had made in 2012 on his social media account. In the post, which came at a time when the fund scandal was in the news, Arınç stated, “Politics is not a place for enrichment, but a place to serve the nation,” and claimed that he had never engaged in any illicit activities during his 50-year political career.

• Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Deputy Chair of the AKP and former Minister for Family Affairs

• Mustafa Aksu, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture

• Dr Ertan Aydın, former AKP MP and election campaign manager, was taken into custody and remanded in custody.

• İhsan Çimen, former Head of Strategic Development at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

• Eren Yeşilyurt, former Chief Revenue Inspector at the Ministry of the Treasury

• İskender Balcı, son-in-law of former Deputy Minister of the Treasury Osman Çelik

• Erkan Kilimci, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank

• Ibrahim Ömer Gönül, former Chairman of the Capital Markets Board (SPK)

• Özdemir Ataseven, former Deputy Chairman of the AKP Tuzla District and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Özata

• Muhammed Yarız, Portfolio Manager at Pusula and former Member of the Board of Directors of the AKP Istanbul Youth Branch

• Former Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister, Abdülkadir Özkan

• Former member of the Presidential Academic Advisory Council, Prof. Emre Alkin

• Taha Çakmak, former General Manager of Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik, affiliated with the Türkiye Wealth Fund, and Gürol Sami Özer, Deputy General Manager, have been arrested

• Erdin Özel, member of the AKP’s Economic Affairs Committee

• Erman Çete, former Director-General at the Capital Markets Board (SPK)

• Emre Tezmen, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Tera Investment Holding

• Serdar Turhan, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Pusula Holding

• Nihat Kırmızı, cousin of Mehmet Kırmızı (member of the AKP’s Central Decision-Making and Executive Board) and Chairman of Doğa Insurance

• Former Ambassador and former Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkey Wealth Fund, Prof. Kerem Alkin

According to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency’s bulletin, there was an increase of ₺ 118 billion in non-performing loans during the Fund crisis. The rise in non-performing loans by the end of this year was 66.6 % higher than in the same period last year. Speaking to Anka, Prof. Dr. Ramazan Aktaş, a lecturer at TOBB University, assessed the rise in non-performing loans, stating, “The inability to repay debts drives banks to resort to repossession and legal proceedings more frequently.” Aktaş added that, at the end of this process, the indebted citizen would lose everything they own, and their wealth would be reduced to zero. Aktaş explained that when a bank’s ratio of non-performing loans exceeds 10 %, it faces the risk of losing its equity capital. “If banks are unable to meet their obligations, the burden is transferred to the Treasury due to the deposit guarantee scheme. The Treasury would be forced to increase borrowing or trigger inflation. Ultimately, this would be passed on to the public in the form of higher inflation and a heavier tax burden,” he said. Aktaş also drew attention to the problems that would arise if banks were to cut off credit due to bad debts, stating, “Businesses that rely on credit to operate could go under. Systemic risk could emerge across the entire economy,” he said. Aktaş noted that during this process, the debt crisis would directly lead to a rise in unemployment, warning that “large sections of the population will face a wave of unemployment”.

Some questions awaiting answers

• Who invested large sums of money in the funds?

• Who made extraordinary profits?

• Who withdrew just before the investigation or the market crash?

• Are there any public officials or politicians believed to have had prior knowledge?

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Skandalın ucu aynı yere uzanıyor, published in BirGün newspaper on November 2, 2026.