Director of the Istanbul Stock Exchange arrested on suspicion of bribery and links to a criminal organization

The director general of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (Borsa Istanbul), Korkmaz Enes Ergun, has been arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation into transactions in the capital markets and investment funds.

According to the state-run Anadolu News Agency, Ergun was detained on suspicion of being part of an organization established to commit criminal offenses, as well as on bribery charges. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the arrest, saying that investigations related to the funds are continuing.

The case involves suspicions of stock market manipulation and violations in the administration of investment funds. The investigation became public after several funds failed to meet investors’ requests to withdraw their money. On September 17, Turkey’s Capital Markets Board ordered the liquidation of 131 investment funds managed by seven different companies.

Financial company executives, fund administrators and other people linked to the business sector are the focus of the authorities’ investigation. Ergun has around 28 years of experience in the financial markets and the Turkish stock exchange. He began his career at the Istanbul Stock Exchange, where he led processes related to company listings, market oversight and financial activities.

Ergun is also deputy chairman of the board of directors of Takasbank and a board member of the World Federation of Exchanges. His arrest is the latest development in the wide-ranging financial investigation affecting Turkey’s investment sector. So far, the authorities have not made public full details of the specific evidence against him, while investigative proceedings continue.