Freezing Assets in Turkey for Investor Claims: Precautionary Attachment, Interim Injunctions and Criminal Seizure

A claim is only worth what can be recovered. For foreign institutions with losses from Turkey’s 2026 market manipulation and fund cases, the defendants are individuals under investigation, issuers whose share prices have collapsed and companies in liquidation, so assets can disappear long before a judgment. Turkish law offers three main tools to stop that. Precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz) under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law freezes a debtor’s assets for a money claim. An interim injunction (ihtiyati tedbir) under the Code of Civil Procedure protects the subject matter of a dispute. Seizure under the Criminal Procedure Code freezes suspects’ assets during an investigation, but only for listed offences and under a judge’s order. This guide explains the conditions, the security a claimant must give, the short deadlines that make each measure lapse, what happens to transfers made to relatives, how seized assets are returned to victims, and why a foreign freezing order cannot simply be enforced in Turkey. It reflects the legislation in force as at 25 October 2026.

Why asset protection comes first

The legal routes open to foreign investors after the 2026 cases are described in our legal guide for foreign institutional investors: disclosure and prospectus claims under the Capital Markets Law, tort claims against those who manipulated prices, and participation in the criminal case. Each of these routes ends, at best, with a judgment for a sum of money. Several features of the present situation make it important to think about recovery from the first day:

• Defendants with uncertain solvency. Issuers whose shares collapsed, portfolio management companies whose funds are in liquidation and brokerages whose activities SPK has stopped may not be able to pay. Individuals under investigation may move or hide assets.
• Criminal seizure is not a private remedy. Seizure in the criminal file is ordered by a judge for the purposes of the investigation and possible confiscation. It does not secure any particular investor’s claim, and, for the liquidated funds, the new fund law directs recovered assets to the funds and their unit holders.
• Time. Civil claims take years. A precautionary measure obtained early keeps assets in place until judgment.
• Territoriality. A freezing order from a court abroad is not enforceable in Turkey as such, because Turkish law allows enforcement only of foreign judgments that have become final (Law No. 5718 Art. 50(1)). Assets in Turkey are frozen by Turkish measures.

The three tools at a glance

Precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz)

Conditions

The creditor of a money debt that is due and not secured by a pledge may have the debtor’s movable and immovable property, receivables and other rights attached as a precaution, whether they are held by the debtor or by a third party (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 257(1)). For a debt that is not yet due, attachment is available only where the debtor has no fixed place of residence, or where the debtor is preparing to hide or remove assets or to flee, or flees, or engages in fraudulent transactions that infringe the creditor’s rights in order to escape obligations (Art. 257(2)); in that case the debt becomes due in respect of the debtor only (Art. 257(3)).

Investor claims arising from manipulation or misleading disclosure are claims for compensation in money. In Turkish practice, compensation for an unlawful act is generally treated as due from the date of the act. Where the amount is not yet fixed, the court still needs a reasoned estimate supported by evidence, because the attachment is ordered for a specific amount (Art. 260).

The court and the evidence

Attachment is ordered by the court that has venue under Art. 50, which applies the venue rules of civil procedure (Art. 258(1)). For tort claims those rules allow proceedings where the act was committed, where the loss occurred or may occur, or where the injured party resides, in addition to the defendant’s domicile (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 6 and 16). The creditor must present evidence that satisfies the court of the claim and, where relevant, of the grounds for attachment (Art. 258(1)). The court may decide without hearing the debtor (Art. 258(2)), which is how most attachments are obtained in practice. A refusal must be reasoned and can be appealed to the regional court of appeal, which decides with priority and finally (Art. 258(3)).

Security and liability for wrongful attachment

A creditor whose attachment proves unjustified is liable for all losses the debtor and third parties suffer, and must provide security (Art. 259(1)). No security is required where the claim is based on a court judgment; where it is based on a document having the character of a judgment, the court decides whether security is needed (Art. 259(2)–(3)). A claim for damages for wrongful attachment may also be brought in the court that ordered the attachment (Art. 259(4)). For foreign claimants this is in addition to the general security for costs discussed below.

Execution and completion

The order states the parties, the documents and amount on which it is based, the ground for attachment, the assets to be attached and the security given (Art. 260). The creditor must ask the enforcement office in the court’s district to execute the order within ten days of the date of the order, failing which it lapses automatically (Art. 261(1)). The enforcement officer records the attached assets, and a copy of the record is served within three days on the parties who were not present (Art. 262).

A creditor who obtained attachment before suing or starting enforcement must, within seven days of the attachment (or of service of the record, where it was made in the debtor’s absence), either file an enforcement request or bring a lawsuit (Art. 264(1)). If the debtor objects to a payment order, the creditor has seven days to apply to remove the objection or to sue (Art. 264(2)). Where the attachment was made while the lawsuit was pending, or the creditor sued in time, enforcement must be requested within one month of service of the judgment (Art. 264(3)). Missing any of these periods, abandoning the case or losing it makes the attachment void (Art. 264(4)). Where the debtor does not object to the payment order in time, or the objection is finally removed or set aside, the precautionary attachment turns into an enforcement attachment automatically (Art. 264(5)).

The debtor’s responses

A debtor not heard before the order may object to the grounds, the court’s venue and the security within seven days of the attachment or of service of the record; third parties whose interests are affected may object to the grounds or the security within seven days of learning of it (Art. 265(1)–(2)). An appeal against the decision on the objection does not stop the attachment (Art. 265(5)). The debtor may also have the attachment lifted by depositing money, acceptable securities, a mortgage or a reliable bank guarantee (Art. 266), or may keep the assets against security not exceeding the debt and costs (Art. 263). If another creditor attaches the same assets before the precautionary attachment becomes final, the precautionary creditor participates in that attachment provisionally and automatically (Art. 268(1)), but a precautionary attachment gives no other priority (Art. 268(3)).

What can be frozen, and what cannot

Attachment can reach the debtor’s immovable and movable property, bank balances, receivables and other rights (Art. 257(1)). Several capital markets rules determine how, and against whom, it works:

Two practical consequences follow. First, a claimant cannot freeze a fund’s assets to secure a claim against the fund’s portfolio management company, and cannot reach other clients’ assets at a failed brokerage. Second, freezing a defendant’s listed shares or cash at a brokerage is done through the intermediary that holds the account, so identifying the intermediaries matters as much as identifying the assets.

Interim injunction (ihtiyati tedbir)

An interim injunction may be granted on the subject matter of a dispute where a change in the existing situation may make it substantially harder or impossible to obtain the right, or where delay may cause a disadvantage or serious harm (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 389(1)). The court may order any measure that removes the disadvantage or prevents the harm, such as keeping a thing or right in custody, entrusting it to a custodian, or ordering something to be done or not done (Art. 391(1)).

For a claim that is simply for money, Turkish courts generally regard precautionary attachment, not an injunction, as the appropriate measure. Injunctions are useful where the investor claims a specific asset or right, for example where shares, units or securities held for the investor have not been delivered, or where the aim is to prevent a specific transfer that would defeat the claim.

The other side may have the measure changed or lifted by giving security accepted by the court (Art. 395), and either side may ask for a change where circumstances have changed (Art. 396). Unless the order says otherwise, the injunction lasts until the final decision becomes binding (Art. 397(2)).

Seizure in the criminal investigation

The general rule

Where there is strong suspicion, based on concrete evidence, that the offence under investigation was committed and that the assets were obtained from it, a suspect’s immovable property, vehicles, bank accounts, rights and receivables, securities, company shares, safe deposit boxes and other assets may be seized, even if a third party holds them (Criminal Procedure Code Art. 128(1)). Only a judge may order this seizure (Art. 128(9)), and a trustee may be appointed to manage the seized assets (Art. 128(10)). Before the order, a report on the value obtained from the offence is obtained, as relevant, from the Capital Markets Board and other named authorities; the report must be prepared within three months, extendable by two months for special reasons (Art. 128(1)). Bank accounts are frozen by immediate notice to the bank, and transactions made afterwards to defeat the order are void (Art. 128(5)); company shares are frozen by notice to the company and the trade registry (Art. 128(6)); breach of the order is punished as abuse of a custodial duty under Criminal Code Art. 289 (Art. 128(8)).

The catalogue of offences

Art. 128 applies only to the offences listed in its second paragraph. The list includes, among others, theft, robbery, abuse of trust (Criminal Code Art. 155), fraud and qualified fraud (Arts. 157 and 158), fraudulent bankruptcy, usury and embezzlement. It does not list the capital markets offences of the Capital Markets Law, such as market manipulation (Art. 107). The appointment of a trustee to run a company under Criminal Procedure Code Art. 133 is also limited to a separate list, which includes laundering of proceeds of crime (Criminal Code Art. 282) but not capital markets offences (Art. 133(4)).

For the fund cases, the text of Law No. 7596 approved by parliament on 22 October 2026, as reported, addresses this directly. Its Article 6 provides that seizure under Criminal Procedure Code Art. 128 may be ordered in investigations into acts connected with the funds within its scope; money and capital market instruments that can lawfully be returned to a fund are returned to it, or to a recovery account, under Art. 131; the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) may be appointed trustee for assets that cannot be transferred to the fund; and confiscated values found to derive from a fund are transferred to the fund rather than to the Treasury. The law had not been published in the Official Gazette as at 25 October 2026.

How seized assets reach victims

Turkish criminal law gives the victim priority over the state in respect of what was taken. Proceeds of an offence are confiscated only where they cannot be returned to the victim (Criminal Code Art. 55(1)). Assets seized under Art. 128 that belong to the victim of the offence are returned to their owner once they are no longer needed as evidence (Criminal Procedure Code Art. 131(2)). Seized assets at risk of damage or substantial loss of value may be sold before the judgment becomes final, by decision of the judge during the investigation or the court during the prosecution, after hearing the owner (Art. 132(1)–(3)). Where a public prosecution has been brought but no decision on the return of assets was made with the judgment, the court decides on return of its own motion or on the request of those concerned (Art. 256(2)); and where confiscation should be ordered but no decision was given with the merits, the prosecutor or the participating party may apply to the competent court (Art. 256(1)). At the hearing on such matters, persons with rights over the assets are summoned and may exercise the rights of the accused (Art. 257(2)).

The return rule works best where the victim can trace specific money or securities that were taken from it, for example client assets misused at an intermediary, an offence covered by the Capital Markets Law’s abuse of trust provision (Art. 110). It works less well for market losses, where the investor’s money passed through the exchange to many counterparties. This is one reason why participation in the criminal case, explained in Joining a Criminal Case in Turkey as a Foreign Investor, and the civil claim with its own attachment need to run together.

Transfers to relatives and third parties

Where a defendant has already moved assets, Turkish law allows certain transactions to be set aside so that the creditor can enforce against the assets as if they had not left the debtor’s estate (actio pauliana, Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Arts. 277–284). The action may be brought by a creditor holding a provisional or final certificate of insolvency (aciz vesikası), or by the bankruptcy administration or creditors in the cases the law specifies (Art. 277).

The court may order precautionary attachment on the assets that are the subject of the action, on the creditor’s request, and decides whether security is needed and how much; where the action concerns the value replacing assets already disposed of, attachment cannot be ordered without security (Art. 281(2)). The action is brought against the debtor and those who dealt with or were paid by the debtor, and against third parties acting in bad faith; good-faith third parties are protected (Art. 282). If the action succeeds, the creditor may enforce against the asset, and a third party who has disposed of it is ordered to pay its value up to the amount of the claim (Art. 283). The right to bring the action lapses five years after the transaction (Art. 284).

Rules for foreign claimants

• Security for costs. Foreign persons and companies that sue, join proceedings or start enforcement in Turkey must provide security for costs and the other side’s losses as set by the court, unless exempted on the basis of reciprocity (Law No. 5718 Art. 48). This is separate from the security that any applicant for attachment or an injunction must give (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 259; Code of Civil Procedure Art. 392).
• Foreign freezing orders. Only judgments of foreign courts in civil matters that have become final under the law of the state that gave them can be enforced in Turkey, through an enforcement decision of a Turkish court (Law No. 5718 Art. 50(1)). Interim orders made abroad are therefore not a substitute for Turkish measures over assets in Turkey.
• Venue. The court that would hear the merits decides on precautionary measures (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 390(1); Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Arts. 50 and 258). For tort claims, the courts of the place of the act or of the loss are also competent (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 16).
• Power of attorney. The application is made through a Turkish lawyer holding a notarised power of attorney, apostilled where signed abroad in a state party to the Apostille Convention (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 74 and 76). Because attachment works on surprise and short deadlines, the power of attorney is best prepared before the application, not after it.

The broader procedural rules for foreign institutions, including fees and confidentiality, are explained in Representing Foreign Institutional Investors in Turkish Capital Markets Disputes.

Which measure against which defendant

Deadlines that make a measure lapse

These deadlines sit alongside the limitation periods of the underlying claims: six months from the loss for disclosure and prospectus claims (Capital Markets Law Art. 32(6)) and two years from knowledge for tort claims, with a ten-year long-stop or the longer criminal limitation period (Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 72). An attachment does not stop limitation running on the claim it secures, so the lawsuit or enforcement request that completes the attachment also has to be made in time for the claim itself.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign investor freeze a defendant’s assets in Turkey before suing?

Yes. Precautionary attachment may be ordered before any lawsuit or enforcement, without hearing the debtor (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Arts. 257 and 258). The creditor must then request execution within ten days and sue or start enforcement within seven days of the attachment (Arts. 261 and 264).

Does the investor have to give security?

Yes, as a rule. An applicant for attachment must give security against the losses of the debtor and third parties, except where the claim rests on a court judgment (Art. 259). Foreign claimants may also have to give security for costs when they sue (Law No. 5718 Art. 48).

Will the criminal seizure of a suspect’s assets protect my claim?

Not by itself. Seizure under Criminal Procedure Code Art. 128 is ordered for the investigation and possible confiscation, and only for listed offences. Under the approved text of Law No. 7596, recoveries in fund-related investigations go to the funds and their unit holders. A shareholder’s own attachment secures its own claim.

Is market manipulation one of the offences for which assets can be seized?

The catalogue in Criminal Procedure Code Art. 128(2) does not list the capital markets offences of Law No. 6362. Seizure is available where the investigation also concerns listed offences such as abuse of trust or fraud, and, for acts connected with the liquidated funds, under Article 6 of Law No. 7596 once it is in force.

Can I freeze a liquidated fund’s assets for my claim against its manager?

No. A fund’s assets are separate from those of its portfolio management company and custodian and cannot be attached, made subject to an injunction or included in a bankruptcy estate (Capital Markets Law Art. 53(2)).

What if the defendant has transferred assets to family members?

Gratuitous transfers within one year before insolvency can be set aside, and transfers to close relatives are treated as gifts unless shown to be for matching value (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 278). Transactions made with intent to harm creditors can be set aside within a five-year window (Arts. 280 and 284).

Can an English or US freezing injunction be enforced in Turkey?

Not directly. Turkish courts enforce only foreign civil judgments that have become final (Law No. 5718 Art. 50(1)). Assets in Turkey are frozen through Turkish precautionary measures.

What happens if the attachment turns out to be unjustified?

The creditor is liable for the losses of the debtor and third parties, and the claim may be brought in the court that ordered the attachment (Art. 259). For injunctions, the damages claim is barred one year after the judgment becomes final or the measure is lifted (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 399(3)).

Related guides

• Turkey’s 2026 Fund and Market Manipulation Crisis: Legal Guide for Foreign Institutional Investors — the entry point to this series
• Trading Halts, Watchlist Market and Delisting on Borsa Istanbul
• Social Media Manipulation and Unlicensed Investment Advice in Turkey
• Turkish Bond Defaults: Bondholders’ Boards and Enforcement
• Continuous Disclosure in Turkey: Inside Information and Delayed Disclosure
• How a Securities Lawsuit Proceeds in Turkey
• Limitation Periods for Investor Claims in Turkey
• Concealed Profit Transfers and Controlling Shareholder Liability
• Claims Against Brokers, Custodians and Portfolio Managers in Turkey
• When a Turkish Issuer or Broker Becomes Insolvent
• Obtaining and Preserving Evidence in Turkey for Securities Claims — preservation, document production and the criminal file
• Shareholder Rights in Turkish Listed Companies after the 2026 Crisis — general meetings, release, annulment and exit rights
• Insider Dealing in Turkey: Capital Markets Law Article 106 — trading on non-public information
• Calculating Damages in Turkish Securities Claims — loss, interest and currency
• Suing in Turkey or Abroad: Jurisdiction and Enforcement — forum choice and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards
• Suing Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (SPK) — challenging SPK decisions and supervisory failure claims
• Suing Directors and Auditors of Turkish Listed Companies — board members, managers and audit firms
• Can Foreign Investors Bring a Class Action in Turkey? — joint claims, consolidation, association actions and assignment
• Norway’s Wealth Fund and Turkey’s Market Manipulation Crisis — what Turkish law offers foreign institutional investors
• Joining a Criminal Case in Turkey as a Foreign Investor — complaints, file access and participation
• Market Manipulation under Turkish Law: Article 107 and SPK Enforcement
• Prospectus and Disclosure Liability in Turkey: Articles 10 and 32
• Representing Foreign Institutional Investors in Turkish Capital Markets Disputes
• Turkey’s 2026 Fund Liquidation: Legal Guide for Foreign Investors and Companies
• Legal Guide for Foreign Investors in Turkey (Türkiye) 2026
• Elkonulan Mallar Fon Mağdurlarına Nasıl Dönecek? — Law No. 7596 Art. 6 explained (in Turkish)
• Fon Soruşturmasında Malvarlığı Donduruldu — freezes on relatives’ assets in the fund investigation (in Turkish)