Justice Minister Gürlek: Voluntary Repatriation Does Not Eliminate Legal Liability

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek stated that voluntary repatriation of funds in the fund investigations conducted by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office will not eliminate the legal liability of any individual or legal entity; he announced that additional asset freezing measures will be applied if new evidence is obtained.

According to the timeline, the CMB decided on September 17 to liquidate 131 investment funds belonging to TERA, PUSULA, HEDEF, ATLAS, A1, PARDUS, and BULLS PORTFÖY companies; the liquidation process, to be carried out by İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası, will take six months. As of the end of September, the number of people detained in the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's investigation, including the former Central Bank deputy governor, had reached 85.

On September 26, it was alleged that the former Family Minister and AKP Deputy Chairman Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya made a 21-fold profit through one fund, and her husband İlyas Kaya made an eight-fold profit, with the couple withdrawing a total of 2 billion 170 million lira at the beginning of the month. Kaya resigned. On September 29, the chief prosecutor's office sent a memorandum to all relevant institutions for the freezing of both their assets; on October 6, following the Sayan Kaya couple's repatriation application, the chief prosecutor's office sent a permission letter to banks.

On September 30, Ali Emre Ballı, Chairman of the Board of Management of Adil Katılım Bankası mentioned in the fund investigation, was found dead in his car. On September 30, asset freezing measures were applied to 30 people, including Mustafa Yazıcı, son of AKP member Hayati Yazıcı, along with Ballı; the decision was lifted the following day, on October 1.

Gürlek emphasized that the priority is to ensure that repatriated amounts reach the real beneficiaries: "The source, timing, and amount of the repatriations, as well as the manner in which they reach the real beneficiaries, will be examined meticulously."