UK authorities have frozen £29.2 million ($39 million) in accounts belonging to two London-based companies linked to Pusula Holding, a group at the center of Turkey’s investment fund scandal, according to a report by pro-government Sabah daily.
The report indicated that Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan transferred 2.55 billion lira ($51 million) to an account belonging to PSL Asset Management Limited in five transactions between July 10 and August 17. The transfers were recorded as “Capital Injection” in the payment descriptions.
The investigation also identified PSL Capital Limited, another London-based company. Pusula Finans Holding A.Ş. is the sole shareholder of both companies, which operate from the same address in London.
The frozen accounts are held at Barclays Bank PLC. The PSL Asset Management account contained £9 million, while the PSL Capital account held £20.2 million, bringing the total to £29.2 million. The reported freeze blocks transfers to third parties, and proceedings to return the money to Turkey have begun.
The report said the move followed a request for legal assistance from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office under the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. No public statement from Turkish prosecutors or UK authorities confirming the freeze was identified in the reports reviewed.
The UK transfers took place before other transactions through Switzerland that investigators subsequently identified. Turhan conducted financial transactions totaling 1.198 billion lira through Swiss-linked accounts on August 24 and September 1, while another suspect, Muhammed Yarız, transferred 2.889 billion lira through accounts linked to Switzerland during the same period. The combined transactions totaled 4.087 billion lira ($82 million).
The investigation concerns suspected manipulation of shares traded on Borsa İstanbul, Turkey’s main stock exchange. Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (SPK) filed a criminal complaint under Article 107 of the Capital Markets Law, which covers market manipulation. On September 17 the board ordered the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven portfolio management companies.
Turhan has denied managing Pusula Portföy or knowing about its transactions, according to his statement to prosecutors. He said he had between 5 and 5 billion lira of his own money in the funds that defaulted and attributed part of their growth to credit and collateral transactions involving Switzerland. Prosecutors also allege that he deposited 1.82 billion lira (about $37 million) in cash in three transactions in 2026. No comment from Turhan on the reported UK account freeze was identified.
Share prices associated with five Borsa İstanbul tickers — KTLEV, GUNDG, DSTKF, TRHOL and TEHOL — rose artificially by as much as a factor of 100. The reports also said funds managed by Pusula Portföy grew from 30 million lira to 500 billion lira during the period under investigation, while suspected manipulation involving KTLEV shares generated 72.5 billion lira in alleged unlawful gains.
Turhan is also suspected of transferring personal investments to funds at inflated prices, causing losses of 1.35 billion lira. The affected funds subsequently defaulted and were suspended from transactions on Turkey’s Electronic Fund Trading Platform (TEFAS).
In a separate development reported by the pro-government Odatv, Taha Çakmak, the former general manager of state-owned insurers Türkiye Sigorta and Türkiye Hayat Emeklilik, was detained again after resigning from his positions. He had testified on October 14 and was released under judicial supervision.
Odatv also reported that Merrill Lynch International earned approximately 14.02 billion lira in net profits across 21 stocks by closing positions before the operation, while Bank of America made 84.4 million lira from transactions involving two stocks.
The larger scandal has affected 455,758 individual investors whose money was held in the 131 funds. Some funds had concentrated their investments in shares that were difficult to sell as prices fell and investors sought to withdraw their money. Prosecutors are also investigating whether some investors received advance information that allowed them to withdraw funds before the crisis became public.
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