Former Family and Social Services Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and her husband, İlyas Kaya, have returned money they withdrew from investment funds currently under investigation.
The returned amount covers only profits generated above the principal invested.
Amid the fund crisis, Kaya, who served as family minister between 2016 and 2018, stepped down last month as deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Authorities determined that Kaya withdrew nearly 2 billion Turkish Liras from the funds at the center of the ongoing fund crisis.She deposited 1.86 billion liras ($37.8 million) into accounts administered by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), daily Hürriyet reported.
The amount returned also includes money withdrawn by her husband, İlyas Kaya, who had invested in the same funds and later redeemed his investments with substantial profits.
The process was initiated upon the former minister’s application for the return of the funds.
Consequently, a request was filed with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office seeking the removal of freezes and precautionary measures on the couple’s accounts. The prosecutor’s office approved a limited lifting of the restrictions solely to allow the repayment of money withdrawn from the funds.
The Capital Markets Board (SPK) announced on Oct. 1 that “Voluntary Return Accounts” had been opened on behalf of the TMSF for individuals willing to voluntarily return excessive gains obtained from share sales carried out before liquidation decisions affecting the investment funds.
The regulator said the amounts deposited into the accounts would be allocated solely to the liquidation assets of the relevant fund and could not be transferred to another fund or account.
