Turkey Locks Down Assets of Nine Financial Firms as Brokerage-Linked Fund Scandal Deepens

Asset Freeze Extends to Three Active Brokerage Houses

On Monday, Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek disclosed a sweeping asset-freeze order targeting the leadership of nine financial institutions, three of which operate as brokerage firms. The measure, shared by the minister in a public post on X, applies to board chairs and directors, authorized signatories, their spouses, and first-degree relatives. Under the directive, none of the covered individuals may execute any transaction that would diminish their holdings without explicit clearance from prosecutors, according to Turkish media reporting on the minister's statement.

Gürlek framed the action as part of a multi-pronged criminal inquiry into capital-market transactions, emphasizing the protection of citizens' rights, the tracing of illicit gains, and the pursuit of accountability before the courts. The Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office is leading the probe.

The nine entities named in the order are Pusula Finans Holding, Pusula Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Tera Portföy Yönetimi, Hedef Holding, Hedef Portföy Yönetimi, Bulls Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Bulls Portföy Yönetimi, and Ufuk Yatırım Yönetim ve Gayrimenkul. Three of these — Tera Yatırım, Pusula Yatırım, and Bulls Yatırım — are full-service brokerage firms rather than fund managers or holding vehicles. Tera Yatırım's shares are listed on Borsa Istanbul, meaning the freeze has direct implications for a publicly traded entity.

To give the order teeth, authorities reached out to the Turkish Banking Association, the Participation Banking Association, the national land registry, notarial offices, maritime and civil-aviation regulators, and MASAK (the Financial Crimes Investigation Board) to monitor and block any attempted asset transfers.

A Cascade of Detentions and Regulatory Actions

The asset freeze is the latest escalation in a crisis that erupted in August, when the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK) tightened rules governing equity funds holding concentrated positions in thinly traded stocks. The new constraints triggered forced selling and rapidly undermined investor confidence in several fund families.

By last week, managers at Tera Portföy and Pusula Portföy publicly acknowledged they could no longer honor redemption requests. On Thursday, the SPK suspended trading in the funds of seven separate managers and ordered the liquidation of 131 funds, with Türkiye İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası appointed to supervise the wind-down. The following Sunday, the regulator stretched the liquidation window from three months to six, explaining that the longer horizon would allow assets to be sold under the most favorable conditions, while noting the process could conclude earlier if market conditions permitted.

Arrests and detention orders have been rolling out in parallel. Police took into custody Pusula Portföy Chairman Muhammed Yariz on Thursday, along with Hedef Holding Chairman Namik Kemal Gokalp, Destek Holding majority owner Altunc Kumova, and Tera Portföy Deputy CEO Ibrahim Bekci. Gürlek confirmed on Friday that four suspects had been arrested and that 51 additional individuals faced travel bans. Over the weekend, authorities detained Tera Holding Chairman Emre Tezmen, board members Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin, and Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan, according to Bloomberg.

Separately, prosecutors opened proceedings against 25 individuals over alleged manipulation of shares in KatılımEvim Tasarruf Finansman, a savings-finance company trading under the ticker KTLEV. Fifteen of those suspects have been detained; ten remain at large. The legal action followed a September 17 SPK inspection report that identified market fraud in the stock, as reported by Turkish outlets.

In a related development, FinanceMagnates.com earlier this week reported that Turkish police detained 175 people connected to an alleged forex and cryptocurrency fraud network that moved roughly $266 million.

Market Turmoil and Investor Losses

The fallout has been severe for Turkey's investment-fund industry. Data from the Central Securities Depository, cited by Bloomberg, shows that Turkish funds shed 510 billion liras — approximately $11 billion — in assets between the end of August and September 18. Fund-analysis platform Fonbul recorded net outflows of 411 billion liras over the same window, with the remainder of the decline attributed to market losses.

The Borsa Istanbul All Shares Index dropped 10 percent in the week leading up to Monday, wiping out an estimated $51 billion in equity value — the steepest weekly decline since March 2025, per Bloomberg. On Monday morning, the benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index was down 2.6 percent as of 10:09 a.m. Istanbul time.

Tera Portföy disclosed in a filing on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) that it received approximately 300 billion liras in redemption requests within a compressed timeframe. The firm said it had honored requests made on September 16–18 for four of its funds but ceased processing further payments after Takasbank, the central depository, blocked its accounts at the close of business on September 18. The company added that it was cooperating with authorities to ensure investors could eventually access their savings.

What It Means for the Turkish Brokerage Landscape

The freeze lands in a market where retail brokerage is already subject to some of the tightest leverage and access rules in the region. Back in 2017, the SPK capped forex leverage at 1:10 and mandated a minimum deposit of 50,000 liras for retail clients. Those restrictions were cited by XTB as a key reason it shuttered its Turkish subsidiary in 2018. More recently, Capital.com told investors last year that it was in the process of obtaining a local license.

For traders and investors with direct or indirect exposure to the affected firms, the asset freeze and the broader criminal probe introduce significant counterparty and operational risk. The involvement of three operating brokerages, a listed equity, and multiple fund managers means that the ripple effects could extend well beyond the specific funds under investigation. Market participants should monitor SPK communications, Borsa Istanbul disclosures, and MASAK updates for further enforcement steps that could alter the competitive and regulatory environment for retail and institutional forex trading in Turkey.