Amendment to Capital Markets Law: Severe Sanctions for Stock Market Manipulation

Legislative Regulation Heading to Parliament A new draft law, prepared under the coordination of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Capital Markets Board (CMB), significantly increases sanctions for manipulation and market fraud in capital markets.
The regulation, expected to be submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) by February 19, 2026, aims to boost investor confidence and prevent market-disrupting activities.
Minimum Prison Sentences to Be Raised The current prison sentence limits for market fraud, which range from 3 to 5 years, are planned to be increased.
The primary goal of this change is to make it more difficult for these sentences to be suspended or for the announcement of the verdict to be deferred (HAGB), ensuring that those who commit manipulation crimes serve actual prison time.
New Era in Monetary Fines The draft also introduces a fundamental change in judicial fines.
According to the proposal, the fine to be imposed for market manipulation crimes will not be less than twice the benefit obtained from the crime.
This aims to make manipulative transactions economically deterrent and ensure sanctions exceed the income generated from the crime.
Audit Scope and Investment Funds The new regulation will cover not only those directly performing manipulation but also those acting in concert with them and their accomplices.
While the scope of audits is being expanded with the "reasonable suspicion" criterion, oversight of investment funds and portfolio management companies will be tightened.
In cases where portfolio managers facilitate manipulative transactions, severe sanctions, including license revocation, may be applied.
The draft is expected to be enacted shortly after final evaluations.