Turkish police have arrested 45 suspects in a spiralling investigation into an investment fund crisis, officials said on Friday, as Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek pushed back against speculation he would step down over the scandal.

Prosecutors are parsing the operations of 131 investment funds held by seven companies, whose assets are reportedly worth around US$17 billion.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors were investigating 76 suspects, of which "45 have been arrested", he posted on X.

Media reports said one of those arrested was Erkan Kilimci, a former deputy governor of Turkey's central bank.

Gurlek said authorities had seized the assets of those who either owned or were involved in managing the now-liquidated investment funds, and those of their immediate family members.

The crisis emerged in early September after Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) changed its guidelines for investment funds, saying they could no longer invest all their assets in one stock but were required to diversify.

The move sought to address concerns that many funds were heavily investing in a small number of obscure or hard-to-sell stocks.

To comply, funds began selling stocks, spooking investors who started trying to cash in their investments.

But a scandal erupted last week when several companies admitted they were unable to satisfy investor redemption demands, sending Istanbul's main stock exchange tumbling.

A day later, all 131 investment funds were placed into liquidation by the SPK, which said more than 455,000 individual investors were affected.

The crisis has fed speculation that Simsek, the finance minister, was preparing to resign, though he denied the rumours. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp