Turkish newspaper Sözcü reported that İskender Balcı had resigned from the board of shipping company Özata Denizcilik. The report places the departure against the backdrop of financial allegations involving Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, a deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
According to the newspaper, Kaya announced that she had asked to be relieved of her party duties amid allegations described as a controversy over a 'fund'. Sözcü said she had made substantial profits from trading Özata Denizcilik shares and that Balcı left the board days before the controversy escalated.
Journalist Barış Pehlivan highlighted the resignation on X, pointing to a notice on Turkey's Public Disclosure Platform, KAP. He also said Balcı was Deputy Treasury and Finance Minister Osman Çelik's son-in-law. The resignation notice and the statement about the family relationship are separate elements of Pehlivan's account.
Pehlivan reported that the company's owners had been arrested and drew a comparison between Balcı's departure and Kaya's share sales. He called on Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek to seek an explanation from his deputy. The suggested link between the resignation and the financial controversy is the journalist's interpretation; the timing alone does not establish wrongdoing by Balcı or Çelik.