Statement from Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan, arrested in fund investigation: '1.8 billion TL is my personal savings'

Turhan stated, "If my financial data is examined, it shows I generated 9 billion in operating income within six months. I have not engaged in any manipulative actions regarding stocks or funds."

Stating that he had left the company's management, Turhan said, "Later, by taking on a partnership, I resigned from the chairmanship of the board, board membership, and all executive operations and actions in September and October 2025. Only a 50 percent stake in the holding remained in the portfolio management company. When I transferred this portfolio management company to Muhammed Yarız and the new management team, its size was 30 million TL. After this transfer, I had no further connection with the portfolio management company, and I had no knowledge of the transactions it conducted."

"I personally purchased the PKZ fund"

When asked if he had any investments in the funds established within the Pusula portfolio management company, Turhan said he had personally invested in the PKZ fund. Turhan stated, "I personally purchased the PKZ fund for the Pusula portfolio management company. This fund of mine contained shares belonging to Katılımevim. I did not carry out any sales transactions regarding the shares in this fund."

Explaining the reason for purchasing Katılımevim shares, Turhan said, "The reason I hold Katılımevim shares is that it is a valuable stock. If my financial data is examined, it generated 9 billion in operating income in six months. It is my right to buy shares of a company that is quite sound in terms of its system. Katılımevim Company is constantly improving itself financially, has high commercial activity, and is involved in many sectoral activities, such as banking. It is normal for a company with such activities to grow."

Stating that buybacks of Katılımevim shares were made by himself and his holding, Turhan said, "I have always stood behind my Katılımevim Company, both personally and as my holding company. If you look at the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) news from the last twenty days, there have been buybacks."

"I was not involved in the Gündoğdu acquisition"

Defending himself regarding the acquisition of the Gündoğdu company and the rise in the company's value, Turhan said, "I was not involved in the acquisition of the Gündoğdu Company in any way. The person who made the purchase is Muhammed Yarız. While I do not know the reason for the rise, I have not sold a single lot of the shares belonging to me or my holding company during this upward trend. However, if they conducted any transactions through funds, I have no knowledge or approval regarding them."

"I have no information regarding the rise in other stocks"

Responding to a question about the rises in BİGEN, PASEU, ODİNE, Destek, Katılımevim, Gündoğdu, Hedef, and Vişne stocks, in which the Pusula portfolio management company invested, Turhan said, "Except for Katılımevim, I have no information or connection regarding the rises in all the other stocks you mentioned. As I said at the beginning, I am only a partner in the capital of the portfolio management company; I have no connection with its management. Especially on the executive side, I have no connection at all."

He said he "learned about it last week" regarding the money market fund

Turhan replied, "I learned what a money market fund was last week. Before that, I didn't know what it was. I only knew that the portfolio management company was involved in equity funds. I didn't have the slightest idea about where or how the borrowing was done."

When asked about the money transfers to his account in Switzerland, Turhan argued that the figures presented to him were incorrect, stating, "All of this money consists of amounts placed into the coffers of the Pusula portfolio management company during this recent 15-day crisis period. The purpose here was to overcome the crisis in the mildest way possible. In other words, these figures are actually amounts deposited in liquid form to be paid to investors."

He was asked about the 1 billion 928 million 967 thousand 999 TL money movement between him and Muhammed Yarız. When asked about the money movements between him and Muhammed Yarız, Turhan stated that the transactions in question stemmed from commercial relations. Turhan said, "The figures here are exchanges between Muhammed Yarız and me stemming from commercial relations. For example, this includes payments related to a portion of the land belonging to Katılımevim in Bursa. There are also payments related to the purchase and sale of vehicles we use as passenger cars."

Regarding the money movements between him and his brother Mehmet Salih Turhan, he said, "There has been mutual assistance between us, apart from the commercial dimension that dates back a long time."

"1.8 billion TL is my personal savings"

Responding to the question regarding the 1 billion 820 million 342 thousand TL in cash deposited in three transactions in 2026, Turhan said the money in question was his personal savings. Turhan said, "This is my personal savings. These are amounts used in commercial transactions I conducted outside with people I could call friends in my own circle. It is true that I brought this money and deposited it into my account." Turhan stated that he sent this amount to the portfolio management company during the crisis period.

"The 74 billion TL volume stems from recurring transactions"

Turhan was also asked about his total banking transaction volume between 2024 and 2026, which was 74 billion 204 million 716 thousand 81 TL. Turhan said, "The volume in question appears high due to recurring money movements. The money obtained from the sale of my own personal shares in the portfolio management company is transferred to my account, and I transfer this to the holding structure, and from the holding, it was sent to Katılımevim due to the bank sale of the company we acquired. So, the actual figure here is 12.5 billion TL."

Turhan stated that bank loans were also used during the acquisition of companies into the holding structure, saying, "While gathering companies under the holding structure, we used bank loans and made purchases for the holding as individuals. Here, one transaction can appear as three times the amount."

"I do not accept the accusations against me"

Stating that he did not accept the accusations, Turhan said, "The commercial transactions we conducted are completely legal and official transactions. I also have payments that would make me a tax record holder in Turkey. I have not engaged in any manipulative actions regarding stocks or funds in any way."