Shares of Turkiye Sigorta AS extended losses after local media reported that two of its top executives were arrested as part of a sweeping probe into alleged 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 tumbled 18% in the past two days, falling to the lowest level in almost two years.
Broadcaster NTV reported allegations that Turkiye Sigorta, a state-backed insurer, had steered cash into funds managed by Tera Portfoy Yonetimi, the brokerage at the center of the fund crisis, citing unnamed sources. 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 arrested as authorities try to contain a crisis that has battered stock and bond markets. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said this month that 88 suspects have been arrested so far.
Turkiye Sigorta, which is 76%-owned by Turkey's sovereign wealth fund, did not respond to requests for comment. Cakmak, a former bank regulator and ex-deputy governor of the Turkish central bank, had overseen a stock market darling. Since his appointment in 2023, the shares soared more than 500% through a May peak, but since September the stock has lost more than 40% of its market value.
Cakmak resigned on Oct. 15 and the company postponed its third-quarter results. On Monday, the board also fired Ozer. Turkiye Sigorta was formed in 2020 through a merger of insurance subsidiaries of state-owned banks and now holds the largest share of the Turkish insurance market.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing