Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has become one of the country’s biggest corporate actors after courts put 1,123 companies under its control through trustee appointments and asset seizures, Turkish Minute reported.
The expansion has accelerated since March, as prosecutors sought court orders that shifted the management rights of hundreds of companies to the TMSF under Turkey’s trusteeship framework. The latest additions include seven companies linked to the digital media platform GAİN, bringing the total under the fund’s management to 1,123.
According to official data, companies under TMSF control employ nearly 56,000 people and hold combined assets of 361.2 billion Turkish lira ($8.5 billion). The fund carries out the work with 504 employees.
The companies span multiple sectors. Construction and architecture account for 14 percent, followed by food and agriculture at 13 percent and energy at 12 percent.
Recent operations
The most recent high-profile case involved GAİN Media, a prominent digital broadcaster. On December 16 courts appointed the TMSF as trustee to GAİN Media and six affiliated companies following an investigation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into allegations including money laundering and illegal betting.
The acceleration since March has overlapped with a broader crackdown that began with the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges. Critics say the case against İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure, is politically motivated.
Analysts and business leaders cited in an October analysis by the Financial Times said one explanation for the probes is the government’s effort to show voters it is pursuing corruption cases broadly rather than targeting only opposition figures. Others point to longer-running patterns. Berk Esen, an assistant professor of political science at İstanbul’s Sabancı University, said in comments cited by the Financial Times that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has used the TMSF to shape parts of the economy and redirect resources, sidelining business groups it views as rivals.
The TMSF was established in 1983 to protect bank deposits and manage failed financial institutions. Its mandate expanded sharply after a coup attempt in 2016, when authorities confiscated more than 1,300 companies alleged to be linked to the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by the late Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen.
According to the fund, more than 600 of those companies were later returned to their original owners after judicial review, while others were sold or liquidated.
Under Turkish law, trustee appointments are a provisional measure and do not constitute a final confiscation. Ownership remains with shareholders while court proceedings continue.
