Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Tuesday that 85 suspects had been arrested so far in the investigation into Türkiye’s fund turmoil, and that five people had already handed back money they made through what he called "unjust gains."

Gürlek said authorities would recover such profits from others who made them through market manipulation.

Regulators last month ordered the liquidation of over 130 investment funds managed by seven asset managers following warnings by some that they could not meet redemption payments.

Authorities have widened their investigation into suspected market manipulation in stocks and fund markets.

Legal action has been taken against 207 people in total, with measures imposed on the assets of many of them, Gürlek told Anadolu Agency (AA).

The funds ordered to be wound down had reached more than $20 billion in assets over just three years. About half a million investors have been affected.

Türkiye's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has opened accounts for investors seeking to return what authorities describe as "excessive gains" from fund ​sales.

Gürlek said five people had returned their unjust gains so far. Reports said among them was Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who resigned as a deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) after she and her husband were alleged to have made substantial profits trading shares ahead of the turmoil.

Profits made by people who earned excessive gains over a short period would be transferred to a fund set up within the TMSF, the minister said.

"We will pursue our rights to the end within the framework of the law," Gürlek said.

Gürlek drew a line between two kinds of earnings. Legitimate profit, he said, comes from citizens putting their savings into stocks and the stock market. The other kind came from so-called "bubble" stocks, where traders made abnormal profits by moving in and out quickly.

He said investigators had found that some people in closed and open funds had acted on tips and inside information, and used manipulative trades to make "extraordinary" profits over a short time.

He said the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, working with data from the Capital Markets Board (SPK), Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange and the Central Registry Agency, had frozen the assets of people who made abnormal gains.

Some of them had been arrested, he said, and others had fled. He said the process was continuing.

Gürlek said his ministry first noticed unusual movement in some funds and shares in February 2025 and wrote to the SPK about it. Citizens' complaints then increased sharply in August 2026. Permission to investigate was granted later that month, he said.

Gürlek said the State Supervisory Council (DDK) had been tasked with examining whether any public institutions were negligent.

He said the Turkish market and economy were very strong and that a problem in a small part of the market should not be generalized.