Finance Minister Şimşek orders inquiry into former SPK Chairman

ANKARA

Former Capital Markets Board (SPK) Chairman İbrahim Ömer Gönül. (AA photo)

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has tasked the Treasury and Finance Ministry’s Inspection Board with conducting a preliminary examination and inquiry into former Capital Markets Board (SPK) Chairman İbrahim Ömer Gönül as part of the ongoing fund investigation, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The decision was taken in connection with a fund probe being conducted by prosecutors.

Following a request from prosecutors for permission to investigate Gönül, Şimşek on Oct. 2 instructed the Inspection Board to carry out a preliminary review and inquiry in line with the relevant legislation.

Gönül, who served as chairman of the Capital Markets Board (SPK) between April 2022 and April 2026, was recently summoned to testify as a suspect in the fund-related investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In comments to daily Hürriyet last week, Gönül defended the regulator’s record during his tenure, saying the SPK had carried out the necessary audits and had imposed administrative fines on some of the funds under scrutiny. He added that certain investigations initiated during his term were completed by the management that succeeded him.

Responding to questions about alleged manipulation in investment funds, Gönül said the SPK’s supervision and surveillance mechanisms were rigorous and that irregularities did not go unnoticed, while stressing that determining manipulation required gathering evidence and could take several months.