Şahap Kavcıoğlu, the head of Turkey’s banking regulator, said Wednesday he had submitted his resignation to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following allegations, which he denied, linking himself and his agency to the country’s investment fund scandal.
The scandal concerns suspected stock market manipulation involving investment funds that attracted nearly half a million investors. The crisis erupted in September when some funds could not meet withdrawal requests, prompting regulators to order the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven asset management companies.
Kavcıoğlu’s announcement followed the arrest pending trial of three senior officials at the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), as the investigation increasingly reaches officials responsible for overseeing Turkey’s financial system.
“In light of recent allegations concerning the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency and myself, I have asked our president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to relieve me of my duties so that our institution does not suffer further damage,” Kavcıoğlu said on X.
Bankacılık Düzenleme ve Denetleme Kurumu ve şahsımla ilgili son günlerdeki iddialar üzerine, Kurumumuzun daha fazla yıpranmaması için Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımız Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'dan affımı istedim.Şimdiye kadar bizlere bu görevleri tevdi eden Sayın Cumhurbaşkanımız'a en derin…
— Şahap Kavcıoğlu (@sahapkavcioglu) November 11, 2026
He also thanked Erdoğan for entrusting him with his previous positions. His statement did not say whether Erdoğan had accepted his resignation.
Economist Timothy Ash questioned Kavcıoğlu’s qualifications for the role in a post quoting his resignation announcement on X.
“I can never understand people taking jobs that they are not qualified to do. It would be my own nightmare. How can you sleep at night?” Ash wrote.
An İstanbul court on Monday jailed BDDK deputy chief Muhammet Erişen pending trial, along with Adil Katılım Bankası CEO Murat Yönaç. BDDK department heads Bilal Soysal and Mustafa Alper Taş have also been jailed in the investigation, according to Turkish media reports.
The funds had accumulated more than $20 billion in assets in just three years, attracting investors including politicians, former officials and celebrities, Reuters reported. Investors sought high returns to protect their savings against persistent inflation and a weakening lira.
Investigators suspect funds were used to inflate share prices, raising the apparent value of their holdings and misleading investors. The Capital Markets Board (SPK), Turkey’s securities regulator, oversees investment funds and securities markets, while the BDDK regulates banks and certain other financial institutions.
In an interview with journalist İsmail Saymaz published by the Sözcü newspaper earlier Wednesday, Kavcıoğlu denied taking bribes or having money invested in funds under investigation. He also denied allegations linking the BDDK to the crisis.
“It has nothing whatsoever to do with the fund business,” he said of the agency.
Kavcıoğlu said neither he nor his family or anyone associated with him had investments in funds or the stock market. Asked whether investigators might have questioned his colleagues about him, he said he had received no such information.
Kavcıoğlu has faced public accusations from Savcı Sayan, a politician from Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and former mayor of the eastern city of Ağrı.
Sayan questioned whether Kavcıoğlu had sought 20…
