Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and her husband İlyas Kaya sent the portion of their investments other than the principal amount to the optional return account of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) on a "voluntary basis" on October 5, 2026.
It was reported that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office allowed Kaya's voluntary payment application. According to the information obtained, "The application made by Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya and İlyas Kaya, whose accounts were frozen, in line with the voluntary payment method announced by the CMB, was examined. In line with the opinion asked to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office by the relevant banks, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office allowed the payment to be sent to the optional refund account of SDIF."
Within the scope of the fund investigation, all assets of İlyas Kaya and his wife Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya were requested to be frozen.
The Capital Markets Board (CMB) made a statement on October 1, 2006, announcing that the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) had opened different accounts so that those who made exorbitant profits from sales in the funds before the liquidation decision could return them voluntarily.
In the written statement made by the Board, "The amounts deposited optionally will only be included in the liquidation assets of the relevant fund, cannot be transferred to another fund or account, and will be transferred to T.R. Ziraat Bankası A.Ş. and Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş., which are assigned with the liquidation, to be used in the payments to be made to the participation share holders of the relevant fund within the scope of liquidation." It was said.
Within the scope of this regulation, Kaya should have returned approximately 2 billion 200 million lira.
WHAT ARE THE ACCUSES AGAINST KAYA?
It is claimed that Kaya bought shares worth 63 million TL from Özata Denizcilik, which is under investigation, and sold it for 1.3 billion TL shortly before the fund scandal broke out.
It is claimed that Kaya's wife bought 150 thousand shares at 55 lira in early 2026, sold them at 4 thousand 482 lira, and withdrew 826 million lira from the Özata fund, in which she invested 99 million 687 thousand lira.
Kaya announced that he resigned from his duties in the AK Party on September 26, 2026, following accusations that he and his wife earned 2 billion 200 million lira from the Özata fund.
IT WAS PREVIOUSLY SAID HE WAS RETURNED, BUT IT WAS NOT CONFIRMED
It was claimed that Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya returned the money in the first stage of the fund investigation, but this information was not confirmed.
Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya announced on September 26, 2026 that she requested to be relieved of duty following allegations regarding the funds under investigation.
Stating that he believes that the responsibility he carries in politics is not limited to legal responsibility, Kaya included the following views in his resignation statement:
"The duty we undertake towards our nation also requires taking political and conscientious responsibility when necessary. For this reason, I find it necessary to take political responsibility in order to ensure that the position I hold is not subject to any discussion in a process where the allegations against me will be clarified, and that the investigation and investigation to be carried out can be carried out independently and healthily, without being under any shadow. With this understanding, I asked our President to pardon me from all the duties I have been carrying out in order to ensure the safety of the process and to clarify the allegations in all aspects."
WHO IS FATMA BETÜL SAYAN KAYA?
He was born as the third child of a lawyer family in Fatih, Istanbul. After completing primary school at Fatih Primary School, he graduated from Beyoğlu Anatolian High School (English High School). He passed the university exams and studied at Bilkent University Electrical-Electronics Engineering Department with a scholarship and graduated with honors. He graduated from Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine.
He did postgraduate studies at New York University. He was elected as AK Party Istanbul Provincial Board Member at the 5th Ordinary Congress in 2009. Later, he worked with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Advisor to the AK Party Chairman until 2012. He was re-elected as a member of the Istanbul Provincial Board of Directors at the congress in 2012 and was appointed as the Provincial Vice President responsible for AK Party Istanbul Promotion Media.
He served as AK Party Deputy Chairman Responsible for R&D. With the change in the Central Executive Board dated 25 November 2015, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the AK Party in Charge of Foreign Relations.
Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who was elected as an Istanbul Deputy for the 26th term, took part in the 65th Government as the Minister of Family and Social Policies. He continued his duty as Minister in the new cabinet announced by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on 19 July 2017.
Kaya was elected as the 27th term Istanbul Deputy with the general election held on June 24, 2018.
