Whom can I claim against for my loss, and how?

Legal remediesStatutory provisions in forceThe Bill has not been enacted

If the liquidation payment does not cover your loss, there are different legal remedies against different parties for the uncovered portion. On this page we summarise against whom each remedy can be used, on which rule it rests and within what period. We do not give definitive conclusions: be sure to consult a lawyer about your own situation.

Last updated 16 October 2026 · General information based on official sources

In brief

• The liquidation payment comes automatically. A lawsuit makes sense only for the loss that remains uncovered after this payment.
• Possible defendants: the Capital Markets Board (SPK), the fund’s founder portfolio management company, the portfolio custodian, the distributor bank or brokerage firm that sold you the fund, and the persons actually responsible.
• The time limits differ. The shortest is six months; for the damages route against the SPK, the period for applying to the administration is one year.
• If the Bill is enacted, any amount you recover through litigation will be deducted from your liquidation share. 1

At a glance

1. Remedies against the SPK

The State is obliged to take measures to ensure that the capital markets function soundly. The administration is also obliged to pay compensation for damage arising from its actions and decisions. 4 Actions for damages to be brought on account of the acts of SPK officials are brought directly against the SPK; no separate action is brought against the officials. 3

Action for damages (service fault)

The allegation is that the SPK performed its supervisory duty late or inadequately. Under the former Law No. 2499, the Council of State held, in a case concerning a brokerage firm, that the SPK, which had carried out its supervision late, was liable to the investor. 5 In other decisions, the same Chamber dismissed actions on the ground that the loss had not yet “materialised” while the investor still had the possibility of recovering the receivable by another route. 5 For this reason, in an action brought while the liquidation is ongoing, whether the loss has become definite will be debated.

1. First, a written application to the SPKIf the loss arises from an action or inaction of the SPK (such as supervision carried out late or inadequately), an action cannot be brought directly; a prior written application to the SPK is mandatory. The application is made within one year of the date on which you learned of the action and, in any event, within five years of the action. If an action is brought without applying first, the court does not dismiss it but forwards the petition to the SPK; this, however, costs time. 2
2. Wait for the replyIf the SPK rejects the request or does not reply within thirty days, the period for bringing an action begins. 2
3. Action within 60 daysA full remedy action is brought before the administrative court. 2

If the loss arises from an administrative decision (for example a Board decision), there is no prior application requirement: a full remedy action may be brought directly, together with an annulment action, or after the annulment action has been concluded. 2 Which route fits your situation depends on whether the loss is attributed to a decision or to a lack of supervision; when in doubt, the conservative course is also to make the written application to the SPK within the time limit.

Annulment action

An annulment action may also be brought before the administrative court against the SPK’s liquidation decisions and implementing decisions. In this action, a prior application to the SPK is not mandatory; optionally, the Board may be asked to revoke or amend the decision. Such a request suspends the period for bringing an action; if no reply is given within thirty days, the request is deemed rejected and the remaining period starts to run again. 2 Actions against SPK decisions are treated as urgent matters. 3 The period for bringing an action is sixty days. 2 Whether the period runs from publication in the bulletin or from notification to the person is debatable. On a conservative calculation, from the date of publication:

• Liquidation decisions and procedural principles dated 17 September 2026 (Bulletins 2026/60-61): 16 Nov 2026 6
• Announcement of 28 September 2026 on the cancellation of instructions: 27 Nov 2026 7
• Decisions dated 30 September 2026 (Bulletin 2026/67): the 60th day falls on Sunday, 29 Nov 2026. Therefore, Friday, 27 Nov 2026 at the latest should be the target. 8

2. Against the fund’s founder portfolio management company

The portfolio management company is obliged to manage the fund in a manner that protects the rights of the fund unit holders. The provisions on mandate contracts apply by analogy to its relationship with the investor. 3 The Bill before the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) also holds this company liable in the first place for assets unlawfully removed from the fund. 1 Before an action for a monetary claim, applying to a mediator is mandatory.

The point to watch is the solvency of these companies. Their licences may have been revoked or their activities suspended. The fund’s assets, however, are separate from the company’s assets and are protected against the company’s creditors. 3

3. Against the portfolio custodian

Every fund has an institution (usually a bank or a large brokerage firm) that holds its assets in custody. Under the law, the custodian is responsible for the calculation of the fund’s unit value in accordance with the valuation principles and for the compliance of portfolio transactions with the legislation. If it fails to fulfil this obligation, it is liable for the loss it causes to fund unit holders. The investor’s right to bring an action directly is expressly reserved in the law. 3

4. Against the bank or brokerage firm that sold you the fund

The distributor institution has a duty to inform you accurately and adequately about the fund’s risks. Hedge funds, moreover, may be sold only to qualified investors. In a case where a bank had presented a hedge fund in a way that misled the investor, the Court of Cassation treated the bank’s inadequate disclosure as a ground of liability. In the same decision, it held that the investor’s previous transactions and gains in that fund also had to be examined. 10 Your transaction history may therefore directly affect the outcome of the case.

Which court: consumer or commercial?

The relationship between a retail investor who bought the fund from a bank or brokerage firm to invest personal savings, without any commercial or professional purpose, and that institution may be regarded as a consumer transaction. The Consumer Protection Law defines all kinds of banking services, including investment services, as financial services and gives the consumer court jurisdiction over actions arising from consumer transactions. 11 This has practical consequences: an action before the consumer court is exempt from court fees; in 2026, disputes below TRY 186,000 must first be brought before the provincial or district consumer arbitration committee; in actions above that amount, applying to a mediator is a precondition to filing suit. 11 12 Decisions in which the Court of Cassation regarded disputes concerning fund units purchased through a bank as falling within the jurisdiction of the consumer court are reported in secondary sources; as we have not yet seen the texts of these decisions, no citation is given here.

For those who invested on behalf of a company or in connection with their commercial enterprise, the competent court is the commercial court of first instance, and mediation is a precondition to filing suit. 13 The question of subject-matter jurisdiction is open to debate: the other side may argue that the capital market transaction is commercial in nature, or rely on your qualified investor declaration. Since an action filed in the wrong court ends in dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and costs time, assess this point together with your lawyer before filing.

On this route there is also a free option before going to court: the Customer Disputes Arbitration Committee of the Turkish Capital Markets Association (TSPB). However, members whose activities have been suspended or which are in liquidation may fall outside the scope of this route. This information is reported from a secondary source; it should not be relied on without checking the current text of the directive.

5. False or incomplete information in the fund documents

Investment funds are regarded as “issuers” for the purposes of the law. 3 The signatories of the prospectus and similar public disclosure documents are jointly and severally liable for losses arising from false, misleading or incomplete information in those documents. The burden of proving that they were not at fault lies on them. 3 The time limit on this route is very short: the claim for damages is subject to a limitation period of six months from the date on which the loss occurred. 3 If the date of loss is taken as 17 September 2026, the last day is 17 March 2027.

6. Criminal investigation

In the offences of market manipulation and insider trading, an investigation can begin only upon the SPK’s written application to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. 3 The SPK has announced that it has made these applications. 14 Investors may submit the information and documents in their possession to the prosecutor’s office. If the Bill is enacted, assets confiscated in the criminal proceedings and found to be connected with the fund will be transferred to the fund rather than to the Treasury. 1

7. Does the Investor Compensation Center cover this loss?

Generally, no. The Investor Compensation Center (YTM) steps in when a brokerage firm or bank is unable to deliver a client’s money or shares. The law expressly excludes “losses arising from price movements in the market”. 3 The Bill, too, assigns the YTM only the task of distributing recovered amounts, not of paying compensation. 1

What should I do now?

1. Gather your documentsPurchase and sale receipts, the fund prospectus and investor information form, the qualified investor declaration you signed, your correspondence with the distributor, your e-YATIRIMCI statement and the receipts for any interim payments you received. The detailed list is in the document checklist.
2. Draw up your calendarThe nearest dates above are 16 November 2026 and 27 November 2026. Decide before these dates whether you will use these remedies.
3. Consult a lawyerWhich route is suitable for you depends on the fund type, where you bought the fund, when you bought it and how much you have been paid.
4. Beware of “we will recover your money” promisesRead the fraud warning about those who ask for money up front or promise a certain result.

Sources

1. Bill No. 2/3939“Tasfiyesine Karar Verilen Bazı Yatırım Fonları Hakkında Kanun Teklifi” (Bill on Certain Investment Funds Placed in Liquidation). Submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 9 October 2026 and adopted by the Planning and Budget Committee on 14 October 2026. Not yet enacted.
2. Administrative Procedure Act No. 2577 (İYUK)art. 7: time limit for filing suit (60 days in the administrative court). art. 11: optional application to the authority that took the decision before filing suit; it stops the time limit for suit, and 30 days without a response is deemed a rejection (reduced from 60 to 30 days in 2021 by Law No. 7331). art. 12: for loss arising from an administrative decision, a full remedy action either directly or together with an annulment action. art. 13: for loss arising from an administrative action, the requirement to apply to the administration first (within 1 year of learning of it and in any event within 5 years; 30 days without a response is deemed a rejection). art. 15/1-e: in an action filed without the prior application, the petition is sent to the administration.
3. Capital Markets Law No. 6362 (SPKn)The text of the law in force. The relevant articles are indicated separately on each page.
4. Lexpera Blog, 9 October 2026Prof. Dr. T. S. Küçük and Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Duygun, “Fon Krizi Nedeniyle İdarenin Mali Sorumluluğu” (The Financial Liability of the Administration Arising from the Fund Crisis).
5. Kutlu Gürsel, Meltem, “Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu’nun Denetimi” (Review of the Capital Markets Board)Conference paper, pp. 493-554. It reports the decisions of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State on service fault actions against the SPK (pp. 520-522). The official texts of the decisions are being separately verified.
6. SPK Bulletin 2026/6117 September 2026. Decision No. 57/1708: the liquidation procedures and principles (paragraph A), suspension of transactions outside TEFAS (B), the current list of 131 funds (C).
7. SPK Press Release, 28 September 2026Cancellation of the orders transmitted to TEFAS on 17 September 2026, and payment to the holders of those orders from the liquidation balance in proportion to their units.
8. SPK Bulletin 2026/6730 September 2026. Decision No. 64/1770 (order of liquidation for the A1 Capital, Bulls and Pardus funds) and Decision No. 64/1775 (interim payment for the Tera, Pusula, Atlas and Hedef funds).
9. Public Disclosure Platform (KAP)Official announcements of the funds and of the liquidation process.
10. Court of Cassation, 11th Civil Chamber, 22 December 2016, E.2016/1348, K.2016/9772The bank’s liability for inadequate disclosure in the sale of a hedge fund; the need to examine the investor’s previous transactions.
11. Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 (TKHK)art. 3: definitions of consumer and consumer transaction. art. 49: every kind of banking service, including investment services, is a financial service. art. 68: mandatory application to the consumer arbitration committee in disputes below the monetary threshold. art. 73: the court with subject-matter jurisdiction in consumer transactions is the consumer court; exemption from court fees. art. 73/A: mediation as a precondition to filing suit in the consumer courts.
12. Consumer Arbitration Committees monetary threshold (2026)By communiqué of the Ministry of Trade, the threshold for mandatory application to the consumer arbitration committees for 2026 was set at TRY 186,000 (Official Gazette 23 December 2025, No. 33116; revaluation rate 25.49%). The amount is reset every year; check the current threshold before applying.
13. Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (TTK)art. 5/A: In commercial actions for receivables and damages whose subject is the payment of a sum of money, having applied to a mediator is a precondition to filing suit.
14. SPK Bulletin 2026/6628 September 2026. Criminal complaints, trading bans and licence revocations on account of transactions in TRHOL shares.

Have a question?

These articles are general information. You can send questions about your own situation through the contact section or by e-mail.

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