A new scene in Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya's 2.2 billion fund scam: Kaya couple testified, all eyes are on Tera-Özata relationship

In the fund investigation, which grew after the Capital Markets Board (CMB) decided to liquidate 131 investment funds, AKP Deputy Chairman and former Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who resigned from the party, and her husband İlyas Kaya testified as "suspects" at the Istanbul Courthouse.

The couple, who went to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Laundering Crimes Investigation Bureau 12 days after the scandal emerged, denied the accusations against them. İlyas Kaya said that he bought approximately 150 thousand lots of Özata Denizcilik shares in April 2026 and used the income from the sales in August and September in Halk Yatırım and Tera Yatırım funds for a short time. Arguing that there was no guidance in his investments, İlyas Kaya declared that he felt "conscientious" after the public debate and sent his earnings to the SDIF account.

Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who stated that she bought 250 thousand lots of Özata shares in April, made a similar statement with her husband and explained that she invested her money in Tera funds for a short time after the sale. Kaya rejected the allegations that he received a tip from Tera Portföy Chairman Erdin Özel and argued that he had no prior knowledge that Özata Denizcilik shares would rise.

Although the Kaya couple claimed that they acted with their own foresight while increasing their investment of approximately 163 million TL to 2.2 billion TL in a short period of 5 months, the money traffic in the prosecutor's file points to a very different picture. The fact that the couple invested the huge profits they made from Özata Denizcilik shares into Tera funds, which soon dominated the same shares, reveals the remarkable connection between the two institutions.

All 5 Tera Portföy funds, which were at the center of the fund crisis and were taken into liquidation by the CMB, had Özata Denizcilik (OZATD) shares in their portfolio. These 5 funds, by collecting shares in the market, owned up to 26.4% of Özata Denizcilik's company capital for a period.

According to official records, Özata shares reached incredible weights in the main funds that direct Tera's trading transactions. The status of the main funds in this transaction network, which the Kaya couple claimed was not directed, was as follows:

TLY (Tera Portföy First Hedge Fund): The weight of Özata Denizcilik shares in the fund reached a level well above market norms of 34.27% in the period before the crisis. With the partial sales at the beginning of September, this rate decreased to the range of 19.43% and 20.22%.

TMV (Tera Portföy Algorithmic Strategies Hedge Fund): Along with TLY, it was the second main fund that ensured concentration in the company and triggered the share price by purchasing more than 13 million Özata shares in a single day (May 14).

THF (Tera Portföy Stock Fund): According to the last announced portfolio distribution, Özata Denizcilik shares were the largest position of the fund with 7.21%.

Although the Kaya couple stated that they did not receive direct guidance, the fact that they entrusted the billions of lira they earned from Özata shares to the management of the funds that collected these shares speculatively was another detail that attracted attention in the money traffic investigations in the investigation.

It was revealed that the couple, who were expelled from the party after these suspicious transactions, transferred 1 billion 860 million TL to the voluntary refund funds within the SDIF on October 5. However, experts state that it is not possible to directly offset this refund, which was made on the grounds of "bad conscience", from a possible judicial fine that may arise as a result of the trial, according to the current legislation. The exact details about which Tera funds the couple invested and how much money they deposited and the release dates of the money will become clear once the prosecutor's office investigation is completed.