Türkiye’s parliament on Thursday evening passed a law setting out how investors will be paid from the investment funds that the capital markets regulator ordered to be wound up last month, clearing the way for interim payments of up to 1 million lira per investor.
The bill on "certain investment funds whose liquidation has been decided" was adopted by the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) and became law, Anadolu Agency reported shortly after 20:00. The first five articles had been approved the night before.
The law applies only to funds that the Capital Markets Board (SPK), the country’s market regulator, ordered liquidated in decisions dated 17 September 2026 and whose liquidation has not been completed. Its text states that it does not create a general or permanent liquidation regime for other investment funds.
Up to 1 million lira in interim payments
The central measure for small savers is an interim payment. For funds designated by the SPK, investors whose "net investment" is below 1 million lira can receive an interim payment up to that amount, while those who put in 1 million lira or more can receive up to 1 million lira. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said earlier this week that this could settle around 390,000 accounts, as we reported in our story on his plan for fund investors.
Net investment will be calculated by the Central Registry Agency (MKK), Türkiye’s securities depository. It counts the money an investor paid in and took out, updates the amounts to the liquidation date using the average of consumer and domestic producer price inflation, and applies a first-in, first-out rule. Except for money market funds, an interim payment cannot exceed the value of the investor’s fund units on the day before it is calculated.
Interim payments are not a final settlement. They will be deducted from the final liquidation payment, and investors keep their units until then. The law does not set a payment date; the SPK will issue the detailed rules.
Orders stuck on TEFAS, and voluntary refunds
Investors whose buy or sell orders on TEFAS, the national fund trading platform, were submitted on or before 17 September but could not be executed, and whose units sit in a blocked sub-account, will also be treated as unit holders.
People or companies that the SPK finds took part in market manipulation, insider abuse or market fraud, or acted together with the funds, will receive nothing from the liquidation estate or recovery accounts. Investors who cashed out before liquidation may voluntarily return gains above inflation to accounts announced by the board.
Where the process stands
The fund coordination board said on Thursday that 49.7 billion lira had so far been paid to 55,755 investors and that the number of funds still in liquidation had fallen to 47 from 131. Earlier this week the figure stood at 40.8 billion lira, as covered in our report on the board’s previous update.
The crisis has weighed on Turkish markets, which have seen weeks of foreign selling. Foreign residents holding Turkish fund units should check their account with their bank or broker once the SPK publishes its implementing rules. For wider context on money matters for newcomers, see our moving to Turkey checklist.
Sources
- Fon teklifi yasalaştı (Habertürk/AA)
- SON DAKİKA | Fon teklifi TBMM’de kabul edildi (CNN Türk/İHA)
- Fon teklifi Meclis’te kabul edildi (NTV)
- Fon tasfiyesi teklifi TBMM’de kabul edildi, 131 yatırım fonu etkilendi (Haberler.com)
Photo: Mathieu Stern / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
