Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, a deputy chair of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, resigned from her posts following allegations by the opposition Yeni Party that she and her husband reaped millions from stock transactions just before a market liquidity crisis.
### Opposition Allegations and Share Transactions
Zeynel Emre, spokesman for the main opposition Yeni Party, alleged at a press conference on Saturday that Kaya and her husband, Ilyas Kaya, invested a combined 163 million lira—equivalent to $3.3 million—in April of this year. The investments went primarily into shares of the shipbuilder Ozata Denizcilik. Emre claimed the couple later received about 2.17 billion lira, or $44 million, from selling those shares.
Ozata Denizcilik shares traded at approximately 220 lira at the start of April. The price climbed to 4,980 lira by September 15. Suspected share-price manipulation in thinly traded stocks subsequently triggered a liquidity crisis and a sharp market selloff on September 16. Emre stated that the timing of these transactions raised questions.
### Political Fallout and Investigation
Kaya announced on X that she asked President Tayyip Erdogan to relieve her of all her duties so the allegations could be investigated. She served as family minister from 2016 to 2018 and held the position of AK Party deputy chair responsible for social policies. Kaya stated that she considered it necessary to take political responsibility while the claims were examined, though she did not comment further on the specifics of the allegations.
Turkish financial authorities took steps last week to support market stability after several investment funds failed to meet withdrawal demands from nearly half a million investors during the selloff. Concurrently, Ozata Denizcilik announced in a regulatory filing on Friday that its chairman, Ozdemir Ataseven, and vice chairman, Gokhan Ataseven, were jailed pending trial as part of an ongoing investigation into the funds crisis.
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