Turkish prosecutors on Thursday sought the arrest of Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities involving capital market transactions, referring her to an Istanbul court after questioning her as a suspect.

Kaya appeared at the Istanbul Courthouse to testify in an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Bureau for Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering Investigations.

Her questioning by prosecutors lasted two hours and 15 minutes.

Following her testimony, prosecutors referred Kaya to an on-duty criminal judgeship of peace with a request for her arrest on charges of violating Türkiye's Capital Markets Law and membership in a criminal organization.

The investigation into capital market transactions remains ongoing.

Kaya, who served as Türkiye's family and social policies minister from 2016 to 2018, resigned from her senior position in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in September following allegations that she and her husband profited from share transactions ahead of a stock market downturn.