BRIBED IN, SQUEEZED OUT: AN IPO TALE FROM BURSA
With the investment fund scandal still unfolding, a new allegation has come to light: companies were asked for bribes to secure approval from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to go public.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
CHESSBOARD IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Developments in recent weeks underscores just how increasingly complex the picture in the Eastern Mediterranean has become.
TURKISH-OWNED SHIP SUNK IN BLACK SEA, ANKARA WARNS BOTH UKRAINE AND RUSSIA
A Turkish-owned commercial cargo ship sank in the Black Sea following an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attack, killing all 10 crew members on board, BBC Turkish reported.
TURKEY'S MARKET REGULATOR MOVES TO CURB HEDGE FUND MANIPULATION AS INDEX GIANT SETS DEADLINE
Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) is tightening its grip on investment funds and the stock market under new chair Mahmut Sütcü in response to domestic and international calls for a clampdown on manipulation.
TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY
This year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) held lively discussions on the global security environment, especially in Europe, and the collapse of the rules-based international order. Strained transatlantic relations, the Ukrainian War, and Iran, all burning matters for Turkey, were on the agenda. Figures such as Marco Rubio, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached global audiences from the MSC. Turkey was not heard.
COURT OUSTS CHP’S ISTANBUL BOARD OVER BALLOT-RIGGING ALLEGATIONS
An Istanbul court has dissolved the main opposition CHP’s provincial board in the city, suspended its chair Özgür Çelik, and halted the party’s congress process amid ballot-rigging claims.
SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER
The Revenue Administration has announced the top income taxpayers in 2024, with most names once again kept confidential. For the fourth year in a row, Baykar Chair of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, ranked first, paying 2.77 billion lira in income tax.
ÖZEL FIRES BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS ON AKP ANNIVERSARY
CHP Chair Özgür Özel sparked a political storm by accusing a senior AKP figure of bribing a businessperson to testify against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The CHP leader also suggested that the AKP had used dirty tricks to push CHP Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu to transfer to the AKP on the 24th anniversary of the ruling party. Just two hours before the AKP’s celebrations, Özel said that former AKP Central Decision and Executive Board member and lawyer Mücahit Birinci asked imprisoned businessperson Murat Kapki to pay $2 million and promised his release in return for signing a false statement.
FIDAN LAUNCHES DIPLOMATIC PUSH AMID NEW FLOTILLA CRISIS
After Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, detaining at least 20 Turkish nationals among approximately 175 activists on board, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan moved quickly on the diplomatic front, holding back-to-back calls with his Spanish and Greek counterparts.
ERDOĞAN SKIPS TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MEETING BUT STOPS SHORT OF WITHDRAWING TURKEY
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opted not to attend the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-led Board of Peace in Washington — much like he previously declined to travel to Davos for the initiative’s launch — signaling a calibrated diplomatic balancing act. While Erdoğan is among the few leaders known to have a personal rapport with U.S. President Donald Trump, he refrained from participating in both events hosted by Trump. Instead, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan represented Turkey on both occasions.
TURKEY’S HALF-HEARTED ENDORSEMENT OF TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE INITIATIVE
One would expect the bromance between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to reach new heights following the former’s recent disavowal of the PKK/YPG.
LIBYAN COMMANDERS’ PLANE CRASHED WHILE ENGINES WERE RUNNING
The engines of the plane carrying Libya’s top military officials, including Chief of General Staff General Muhammad Ali Al-Haddad, were still running when it crashed near Ankara on Dec. 23, 2025, killing all on board, according to findings of a preliminary investigation.