At least 17 suspects were arrested in the last few hours in a major operation launched in Turkey against a network suspected of carrying out ‘unusual movements’ on the Istanbul Stock Exchange as well as manipulating capital market instruments.
Turkish media such as TRT reported that the suspects were detained as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, in which the detainees were accused of creating artificial fluctuations in the stock market to obtain illicit profits. TRT indicated that the investigation is still ongoing, so further arrests in the coming days cannot be ruled out.
The investigation was launched after strong and unusual fluctuations in prices and volumes were detected on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (BİST) on 21 February, which led the Capital Markets Commission (SPK) to open an investigation parallel to that initiated by the public prosecutor’s office, after receiving several complaints and warnings.
During the afternoon session on 21 February, the benchmark index of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (BİST 100) plummeted by 3.4%, leading the Stock Exchange to implement an uptick rule on short-selling; in the following hours the index partially recovered its losses, but still ended the day at 9,602.16 points, a fall of 2.1% compared to the close of the previous day.
At 14:45 today Turkish time (12:45 CET), the BİST 100 index of the Istanbul Stock Exchange had reached 9,926.76 points. According to the Turkish press, prior to these arrests an investigation had already been launched into a number of people accused of spreading disinformation about the stock exchange, which had caused irregular price changes and trading volumes.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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