(Nov 1): Borsa Istanbul chief executive officer Korkmaz Ergun was detained as part of an investigation into Türkiye’s investment fund crisis, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday.

Ergun is being investigated on allegations of accepting bribes and membership in a criminal organisation, Anadolu said. The report didn’t say where the information came from and didn’t include a comment from him. Ergun is also the deputy chairman of Türkiye’s Settlement and Custody Bank, known as Takasbank.

A spokesperson for Borsa Istanbul didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment outside normal business hours.

The fund crisis has hit Turkish equities hard, with the benchmark index falling for a seventh straight week through Friday, its longest weekly losing streak on record. The index has lost 25% since the start of September. The rout wiped more than US$100 billion (RM405.8 billion) from the market value of Turkish stocks.

The latest detention marks a further expansion of a sweeping probe into alleged manipulation involving investment funds and stocks.

Earlier in October, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek granted prosecutors permission to investigate Ibrahim Omer Gonul, the former chairman of Türkiye’s Capital Markets Board. Gonul was also removed as chairman of Türkiye’s Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority on Oct 20. He hasn’t commented publicly on the investigation.

Gonul’s successor at the Capital Markets Board was also replaced after six months in the post. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Muhsin Atci, head of the nation’s tax inspection board, as the new regulator chief on Sunday.

The collapse of several funds in mid-September affected the savings of almost half a million investors and has led to the arrest of dozens of executives. Most recently, authorities arrested Taha Cakmak, chief executive officer of state-run insurer Turkiye Sigorta AS, as part of the investigation. Cakmak resigned from his role.

The wider turmoil has also touched other figures in the financial industry. Ali Emre Balli, chairman of distressed-asset manager Adil Varlik Yonetim and of an industry group representing non-bank financial companies, was found dead in a vehicle earlier in October after suffering a gunshot wound, according to CNNTurk. Authorities haven’t publicly established the circumstances of his death.

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