Istanbul Prosecutors Probe Billions in Fund Transfers to Swiss Banks

Istanbul prosecutors are expanding a financial crime investigation into fund management firms after MASAK flagged billions of lira in suspicious transfers to Swiss banks. The probe focuses on Pusula Portfolio, Tera Investment, and Hedef Holding executives.

Two suspects, Selim Dağbaşı and Hamza Kablan, were detained for transferring $14.5 million and 970 million lira respectively to detained Pusula chairman Muhammed Yariz's Edmond de Rothschild account in Switzerland. MASAK reports show the transfers occurred just before fund firms defaulted on redemption payments in mid-September.

Separately, MASAK blocked a 2 billion lira swap transaction initiated by Hedef Investment Bank with Swissquote Bank after the corresponding $40.9 million failed to arrive in the correspondent account at Akbank. The BDDK confirmed the dollar leg was only a forward commitment, prompting the suspension.

Previous operations had already detained Pusula chairman Muhammed Yariz, Destek Holding owner Altunç Kumova, Pusula Holding chairman Serdar Turhan, and Tera executives including Emre Tezmen. Doğa Insurance chairman Nihat Kırmızı was also detained.

Prosecutors have asked MASAK to scrutinize all domestic and international money and crypto transfers by executives of Pusula Finans, Tera, Hedef Holding, and Bulls Investment since 2024. The scope includes first-degree relatives' accounts and alleged asset stripping.