Turkish police have detained 15 people in connection with alleged stock market manipulation conducted via social media, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation centers on suspicious activity in the equities traded on Borsa Istanbul (BIST), where authorities detected irregular price movements and trading volumes deemed inconsistent with normal market behavior. Officials say these artificial price hikes caused significant losses for small investors.
According to the prosecutor’s office, manipulative trading was identified in the shares of Türk Prysmian Kablo ve Sistemleri AŞ (PRKAB) and Doğan Burda Dergi Yayıncılık ve Pazarlama AŞ (DOBUR).
Seventeen suspects were targeted in the operation, accused of “establishing a criminal organization” and “market fraud.” Prosecutors allege the manipulation was coordinated through three social media accounts.
Police launched simultaneous operations in İstanbul, Antalya, Şanlıurfa, İzmir, Kayseri, Malatya, Samsun, Bursa and Ankara, detaining 15 suspects. Efforts to locate the remaining two individuals are ongoing.
$25 million in alleged illicit gains
Meanwhile, a report from the Capital Markets Board’s (SPK) Market Oversight and Supervision Department has revealed that private voice chat groups were used to promote certain stocks on social media platforms. Members were allegedly steered toward select equities after manipulated analyses were presented during these chats.
The report said the suspects engaged in coordinated market manipulation, resulting in estimated illegal gains of approximately 800 million Turkish lira (around $25 million) based on current exchange rates.
Authorities believe the actions were carried out by an organized crime group. The alleged ringleader, identified only by the initials H.Y., is reportedly already serving a prison sentence on unrelated charges.
Ongoing market manipulation probes
Investigations into stock market manipulation at Borsa Istanbul have been ongoing in recent months. In February authorities launched a probe into “unusual price movements,” leading to the detention of 17 people in March. Another 15 suspects were taken into custody at the end of April, 12 of whom were later arrested.
Borsa Istanbul has been trading at notably low levels compared to other investment instruments for an extended period.
Market confidence took a further hit following government operations targeting the opposition-run İstanbul Municipality, which triggered a record plunge in the stock market.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in decades.
The detention of İmamoğlu triggered financial turmoil. The Turkish lira fell sharply following his arrest, prompting the central bank to deliver a surprise interest rate hike in April, abruptly ending a rate-cutting cycle that had begun earlier in the year.
According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Turkey’s central bank sold more than $40 billion in foreign exchange in the weeks after İmamoğlu’s arrest. The intervention pushed net reserves, excluding swaps, from over $60 billion to under $20 billion, raising concerns about the sustainability of Turkey’s reserve position.