Saymaz questions repayments and oversight in Turkey's fund investigation

The journalist's account connects alleged investment losses with arrests, disputed benefits and questions about whether regulators intervened soon enough.

Channel: SÖZCÜ Televizyonu ·

TurkeyStory of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of SÖZCÜ Televizyonu's most watched videos since yesterday, with 115,323 views.

SÖZCÜ Televizyonu: The news channel of the opposition-leaning Turkish newspaper Sözcü, since 2021. 2.3M subscribers and 3B views.

İsmail Saymaz'dan Beştepe'de Fon Depremi İddiası! Erdoğan'ın Danışmanları Olayın Neresinde?

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2:30Saymaz recounts telephone conversations with a figure in the investigation, including that person's defense.
6:01The discussion examines alleged links between insurer deposits, holding-company shares and Tera-managed investments.
11:00Saymaz cites an institutional employee's loss estimate, distinct from the larger sum described as money invested.
31:00The panel examines applications to a voluntary repayment account and asks how investors' losses might be addressed.
40:32Saymaz discusses the Azerbaijan controversy following presidential adviser Oktay Saral's remarks and reports his resignation.
57:35The studio considers Kılıçdaroğlu's early-election statements.

Payments into a voluntary restitution account are a central detail in journalist İsmail Saymaz's account of Turkey's widening investment-fund investigation. On Turkey's SÖZCÜ Televizyonu, he describes conversations with people involved and asks how much money was lost, who benefited and whether earlier intervention could have prevented further losses.

The discussion concerns investments involving insurer Türkiye Sigorta, Tera-managed funds and shares in Graintürk Holding. Saymaz recounts an alleged arrangement in which investment in the holding company's shares would be rewarded with deposits from the insurer. He also describes allegations that commissions were received in connection with fund investments. These are allegations presented in the broadcast, not findings established by it.

The program's on-screen question asks what happened to 51 billion lira placed in funds. That sum is not presented consistently as a confirmed loss: another caption describes it as money invested. Separately, Saymaz attributes an estimate of roughly 15 billion to 20 billion lira in losses involving Tera to an employee of the institution. The distinction matters because the discussion moves between money invested, alleged losses and broader estimates of damage.

Saymaz reports arrests involving financial-sector figures, including a former department head at Turkey's capital-markets regulator. He also recounts a former ruling-party lawmaker's progression from detention to house arrest and then arrest following an objection. Alongside the accusations, he relays a response disputing that any money had been earned and questioning what there would consequently be to repay.

The panel examines payments and applications to a voluntary return account established by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, known as TMSF. Its wider question is whether oversight failures allowed losses to grow, and how those affected might recover their money. Host Ekrem Açıkel is joined by Saymaz, journalists Fikret Bila and Bahadır Özgür, and opposition lawmaker Cevdet Akay.

Later, the broadcast turns to a separate political controversy. Saymaz discusses presidential chief adviser Oktay Saral's social-media remarks about Azerbaijan and headscarves, the resulting dispute and what he describes as Saral's resignation. He argues that Azerbaijan pursues an independent foreign policy. The closing segment considers former opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's statements about an early election.

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