A former Turkish minister and senior ruling party official, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, has been remanded in custody pending trial over an alleged multi-billion-dollar investment fund scandal involving suspected market manipulation and insider trading.

An Istanbul court ordered her detention on Friday after she was charged with violating capital markets legislation and belonging to an organisation allegedly established to commit crimes, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Ms Kaya served as Turkey’s Family Minister between 2016 and 2018 and was until recently a deputy chair of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

She resigned from her party position on 26 September following allegations by the opposition Yeni Party that she had made substantial profits from transactions involving shares before the investment fund crisis emerged.

A lawmaker from the opposition party had called for an explanation over claims that Ms Kaya and her husband made millions of dollars through share transactions, raising suspicions of insider trading. She subsequently left the ruling party.

Investigation affects hundreds of thousands of investors

The investment fund crisis erupted in mid-September after several funds reportedly struggled to meet investors’ requests to withdraw their money.

The situation triggered investigations into suspected widespread stock market manipulation, affecting the savings of nearly half a million investors.

Authorities subsequently ordered the liquidation of 131 investment funds in an effort to contain the crisis.

112 suspects remanded

Turkey’s Justice Minister, Akin Gurlek, said on Tuesday that 112 people had been remanded in custody as part of the investigation.

Mr Gurlek described the alleged operation as a comprehensive criminal network that had penetrated the highest levels of the country’s financial markets.

He said investigators were examining suspected links between market participants and officials within the financial system.

The wider investigation has reportedly identified 433 suspects, with others placed under judicial supervision or declared wanted.