Turkish prosecutors have issued detention warrants for eight people accused of manipulating trades on the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, allegedly causing financial harm to small investors, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing a statement from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation was launched after unusual and irregular fluctuations were detected in the trading volume and share prices of certain stocks listed on the Borsa Istanbul equity market. Prosecutors said the artificial price increases led to financial losses among retail investors.
As part of the probe, prosecutors determined that eight suspects had manipulated the shares of Atlantis Yatırım Holding AŞ. The suspects are being investigated on allegations of “establishing a criminal organization” and “market fraud.”
Police launched simultaneous operations to detain the suspects in the cities of İstanbul, Kocaeli, Antalya and Zonguldak. Searches and seizures are ongoing as part of the investigation, officials said.
Investigations into stock market manipulation at Borsa Istanbul have been ongoing in recent months. In February authorities launched a probe into “unusual price movements,” leading to the detention of 17 people in March. Another 15 suspects were taken into custody at the end of April, 12 of whom were later arrested, while 15 others were detained in late May.