Türkiye has replaced the head of its capital markets regulator and the chief of its accounting and audit standards authority, in a reshuffle published in the Official Gazette shortly after midnight on Tuesday, as investigators continue to pursue a sprawling probe into troubled investment funds.
Mahmut Sütcü was removed as chairman of the Capital Markets Board (SPK), the body that supervises the stock exchange, brokers and investment funds. He had submitted his resignation on Monday citing health reasons, after barely five months in the top job. Sütcü, born in Samsun’s Bafra district in 1968, had served as the board’s second chairman from November 2024 before being promoted on May 9, 2026.
İbrahim Ömer Gönül, a former SPK chairman, was also removed from his post at the head of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK). Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek gave Istanbul prosecutors permission on Oct. 14 to investigate Gönül for alleged abuse of office in connection with the fund inquiry, as Turkey Daily News reported last week.
New faces at the finance ministry
Kutluhan Taşkın, a deputy head of the Presidency’s Strategy and Budget Directorate since 2021, was appointed deputy treasury and finance minister. He replaces Osman Çelik, a former G-20 sherpa and ex-general manager of Vakıf Katılım, who filed for retirement on Monday with immediate effect.
Şinasi Candan, who has run the State Supply Office (DMO) since October 2023, was named head of the Revenue Administration (GİB), Türkiye’s tax authority. That post had been vacant since its previous holder, Bekir Bayrakdar, became a deputy minister on Oct. 16.
Trustee for Tera holding
Separately, the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), the state body that takes over companies seized in criminal cases, was appointed trustee of Tera Yatırım Teknoloji Holding by an Istanbul criminal judgeship of peace. Tera said on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) that a new nine-member board chaired by Enis Güçlü Şirin now manages the company. No reason for the trusteeship was given in the filing.
The changes come as authorities work through the liquidation of dozens of investment funds. The state’s fund board said last week that 40.8 billion lira had already been returned to investors, while parliament is due to debate a bill guaranteeing interim payments of up to 1 million lira per investor.
Markets remain nervous. The BIST 100 index closed Monday down 2.49% at 11,430 points, extending last week’s 4.44% slide. Foreigners holding Turkish shares or funds can find background on the wider economy in our cost of living guide.
Sources
- Hazine ve Maliye Bakan Yardımcısı Çelik emeklilik dilekçesini verirken SPK Başkanı Sütcü istifasını sundu (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
- TMSF, Tera Yatırım Teknoloji Holding’e kayyum olarak atandı (Hürriyet)
- Hazine ve Maliye Bakan Yardımcılığına Kutluhan Taşkın atandı (NTV)
Photo: Thomas Steiner / CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
