Altunç Kumova’s prosecutor testimony revealed: He explains the 'abnormal' rise

The prosecutor's testimony of Altunç Kumova, the boss of Destek Holding, who was arrested as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Bureau for Investigation of Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering Crimes regarding transactions in the capital markets, has been revealed.

In his testimony, Kumova stated that he has been involved in trade for 39 years and is the 99 percent majority shareholder of Destek Holding A.Ş. Stating that the holding includes a bank, factoring company, brokerage firm, portfolio management company, and a crypto company, Kumova noted that they have also been operating in the banking sector for 5 years.

Explaining that the public offering process for Destek Faktoring was approved in February 2025, Kumova said that they initially reached an agreement with a bank, but later terminated that work and agreed with Tera Yatırım on a 2 percent standard commission. Stating that 25 percent of the company was offered to the public, Kumova reported that, based on Central Securities Depository information and checks made with Capital Markets Board (SPK) approval after the public offering, he saw that approximately 20 percent of the shares were purchased by Tera Group companies and other qualified investors, while approximately 5 percent were purchased by individual investors.

Kumova stated that he did not direct any questions to the Tera Group regarding the share purchases during this process, saying, “Because we have no involvement in share trading. Ultimately, it is not very important for our company who buys the shares of a company that has been 25 percent publicly offered.”

INCREASE IN MARKET VALUE QUESTIONED

In the prosecutor's office, Kumova was also asked whether there was an abnormality in the company's market value rising from 46 TL to approximately 1 trillion 300 billion TL from a market value of approximately 15 billion TL. Kumova replied to this question, “Yes, the figure you mentioned is an abnormal figure. However, as a company owner, I did not know what to do in this situation.”

Kumova argued that he was not interested in the share value and sales, and that they were focused on the company's commercial activities. Stating that he did not make any inquiries regarding the rise in question for this reason, Kumova said they thought the process was under SPK supervision and were of the opinion that they would be notified if there were an abnormal situation.

Kumova was also asked whether he sold shares during the upward trend. Acknowledging that the share showed a significant increase, Kumova stated that it is legally prohibited to sell shares on behalf of the company for one year after the public offering, and that it was not possible for him to make a sale before this period expired. Kumova stated that he did not carry out any buying or selling transactions in Destek Faktoring shares during this period.

Explaining that after the one-year ban was lifted, he wanted to sell approximately 1 percent of Destek Faktoring shares to contribute to the company's commercial activities, Kumova said he held a meeting for this in an environment that included Emre Tezmen, Emir Sarp Yener, and Erdin. Kumova reported that he initially considered a 5 percent sale, but an agreement was reached on a 1 percent portion, citing market conditions as the reason.

Stating that they made the sale at the approximately 700 TL level with a 20 percent discount when the share value was around 800 TL, Kumova said that the transaction was an official sale carried out via a special order and was reported to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).

In his testimony, Kumova, who said, “I am not a player in the stock market as a company or as an individual,” argued that he sensed an abnormality in the transition to TEFAS open funds following the 60-fold increase in Destek Faktoring shares, but that he or his company had no opportunity to intervene because the transactions were carried out through the order book.

Kumova was also asked whether the profit announced by Destek Faktoring exceeding approximately 2.6 billion TL in 6 months was abnormal compared to previous years. Kumova said that the announced profit was the result of commercial activities, that it carried the nature of official, controlled, and audited earnings, and that there were accounting records regarding this.

Regarding the question of whether he had any information that Tera or Pusula had made a major windfall through the company and whether he had applied to state units, Kumova stated that because they follow the funds, they saw that the same transactions made by Tera, and even more, were also made by Pusula. Kumova stated that he did not apply to any institution regarding this, and that he thought the SPK and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) saw and audited these issues.

News Source: 12punto