Turkiye Sigorta AS shares then extended their losses local media reported that two of its top managers were arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of market manipulation at Turkish funds.
According to state-run Anadolu Agency, chief executive Taha Cakmak and his deputy Gurol Sami Ozer were arrested earlier this month. The company’s shares have been hit hard, falling 18% in the last two days and falling to their lowest level in almost two years. (editor note: Bloomberg originally published this article on October 27, 2026 at 12:55 p.m.
Channel NTV Allegations reported that Turkiye Sigorta, a state-backed insurance company, had funneled cash into funds managed by Tera Portfoy Yonetimi, the brokerage firm at the center of the fund crisis, citing sources it did not name. Cakmak’s lawyer, Ersin Yucel, said his client has denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the arrest.
Cakmak and Ozer join a growing list of prominent figures in Turkey’s financial scene who have been arrested as authorities try to get a handle on a crisis that has rocked stock and bond markets. Prosecutors have said they are investigating a huge scandal in which local investment funds bought shares in often unknown companies and then inflated 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 did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails seeking comment. The company is 76% owned by the Turkish sovereign wealth fund, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Cakmak, a former banking regulator and former deputy governor of Turkey’s central bank, ran a company that had become a darling of the country’s stock market. Since his appointment in 2023, Turkiye Sigorta’s shares rose more than 500% and reached a peak in May, outperforming almost all other companies in the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index.
But the stock has been in free fall since September, losing more than 40% of its market value. Turkiye Sigorta announced Cakmak’s resignation on October 15 and then postponed third-quarter results that were due on October 19. On Monday, the board announced that it would also fire deputy CEO Ozer.
Turkiye Sigorta was created in 2020 through a merger of insurance subsidiaries of state-owned banks. The company has since grown rapidly and holds the largest share of the Turkish insurance market, according to an Oct. 21 statement presentation.
Turkiye Sigorta’s shareholders included the investment fund managed by Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS, the documents show. The funds bought at least some of their shares in August, shortly before the scandal broke.
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
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