Yunus Arinci, chief executive of Turkey's settlement and custody bank Takasbank, has resigned after being questioned by prosecutors as part of an investigation into the country's fund crisis, according to people familiar with the matter. He was questioned over the weekend and then released. Arinci declined to comment. A Takasbank spokesperson said the bank would issue a statement through its social media accounts if it considered one necessary, neither confirming nor denying the CEO's resignation.
The departure adds to a wave of turmoil at the institutions overseeing Turkey's capital markets as authorities widen their investigation into alleged manipulation involving investment funds and stocks. Borsa Istanbul Chief Executive Officer Korkmaz Ergun was detained over the weekend on allegations of accepting bribes and membership in a criminal organization, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Ergun is also deputy chairman of Takasbank. A Borsa Istanbul spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
The government also overhauled the leadership of the Capital Markets Board, or SPK, over the weekend. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan named Muhsin Atci, head of the nation's tax inspection body, as chairman, replacing Mahmut Sutcu, whom Erdogan removed on Oct. 20 after about five months in the role. Sutcu's predecessor, Ibrahim Omer Gonul, who had earlier been questioned as a suspect in the fund investigation, was separately removed as head of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority.
Takasbank provides clearing, settlement and custody services for Turkey's capital markets and plays a central role in processing transactions between brokers, investors and Borsa Istanbul. The probe stems from a crisis that erupted in September after several investment funds were unable to meet redemption requests. Regulators ordered the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven asset managers, affecting more than 455,000 investors.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing