For years, the signatures of senior Turkish central bank officials served as symbols of institutional continuity amid Turkey’s turbulent macroeconomic landscape. No longer – two former deputy governors of the national lender, whose names grace the 200-lira note, the country’s highest-value bill, have been hit with serious criminal charges in fraud investigations. The prosecutions have rattled Istanbul’s financial district.

On September 25, a court formally arrested Erkan Kilimci as part of an expanding probe into Turkey’s ongoing ‘Ponzi-style’ funds scandal. Prosecutors are examining claims of irregular transactions, redemption failures and capital market manipulation. The investigation into the stock market affair has escalated rapidly. Local reports estimate that between 45 to 51 people have been detained.

Kilimci, 50, served as deputy governor and as a member of the monetary policy committee from 2016 to 2018 under former governor Murat Cetinkaya. That meant his signature went on the 2017 batch of 200-lira notes.

Following subsequent executive roles at the government-run lenders Development Bank of Turkey, TKYB (Istanbul/KLNMA), and Halkbank (Istanbul/HALKB), Kilimci became CEO and deputy chairman at Tera Holding (Istanbul/TEHOL).

On September 18, he tendered his resignation, announcing it on the public disclosure platform (KAP), citing personal reasons. Days later police took him into custody under pre-trial detention measures.

Emrah Sener case came first

The arrest of Kilimci comes less than a year after another former deputy governor of the central bank, Emrah Sener, was ensnared in a separate sweeping investigation. Sener, whose signature appears on 200-lira notes issued in 2020 and 2021 under governors Murat Uysal and Sahap Kavcioglu, was initially detained in October 2025 following an internal audit by the central bank into the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The BKM probe centres on allegations that there were rigged tenders in chip-card procurements and software development for Turkey’s domestic payment scheme, TROY. There are also claims of uncompetitive service contracts and public financial losses exceeding Turkish lira (TRY) 177mn (around $6mn at end-2023) in 2023.

Released to house arrest in November 2025 after a month in pre-trial detention, Sener was formally indicted in March this year as an alleged ringleader, facing charges that carry potential prison sentences ranging from 14 to 57 years. His trial began earlier this summer.

While both legal proceedings remain ongoing and pre-trial detention does not constitute a conviction, the dual scandals have cast an uncomfortable spotlight on Turkey’s government.