Turkish Insurer Sinks as Top Executives Arrested in Fund Probe

Turkiye Sigorta AS shares extended losses after local media reported that two of its top executives were arrested as part of a sweeping probe into allegations of market manipulation in Turkish funds. Chief Executive Officer Taha Cakmak and his deputy Gurol Sami Ozer were detained earlier this month, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. The company’s shares have been hit hard, tumbling 18% in the past two days and falling to the lowest in almost two years. (Editor’s note: Bloomberg originally published this article on Oct 27, 2026 at 12:55 pm). Broadcaster NTV reported allegations that Turkiye Sigorta, a state-back insurance company, had steered cash into funds managed by Tera Portfoy Yonetimi, the brokerage firm at the center of the fund crisis, citing sources it did not identify. Cakmak’s lawyer, Ersin Yucel, said his client has denied all wrongdoing, and plans to appeal the arrest. Cakmak and Ozer join a growing list of prominent figures from Turkey’s finance scene who have been arrested as authorities try to get a grip on a crisis that has battered stock and bond markets. Prosecutors have said they’re investigating a vast scandal that saw local investment funds buy up shares in often-obscure companies and then inflate their values many times over. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a social media post this month that 88 suspects have been arrested so far. Istanbul-based Turkiye Sigorta didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment. The firm is 76%-owned by Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, the chairman of which is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Cakmak, a former bank regulator and ex-deputy governor of the Turkish central bank, oversaw a company that had become a darling of the country’s stock market. Since he was appointed in 2023, Turkiye Sigorta shares soared more than 500% through a peak in May, outpacing almost all other companies on the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index. But since September, the stock has been in freefall and erased more than 40% of its market value. Turkiye Sigorta announced Cakmak’s resignation on Oct. 15 and then postponed its third-quarter results, which were due Oct. 19. Then on Monday, the board announced it was also firing deputy CEO Ozer. Turkiye Sigorta was created through a merger in 2020 of insurance subsidiaries of state-owned banks. The firm has grown rapidly since then and holds the biggest share of the Turkish insurance market, according to an Oct. 21 presentation. Investment funds overseen by Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS, were among the shareholders in Turkiye Sigorta, according to filings data. The funds bought at least some of their shares in August, just before the scandal erupted. Copyright 2026 Bloomberg. Topics Carriers