The Turkish police have detained 54 individuals, including a high-ranking British official, in a crackdown on stock manipulation.
The suspects are accused of inflating shares of four unidentified companies, in collaboration with the companies' executives, making millions of dollars in illegal profiteering, Turkish media reported.
Among those detained is Duncan Blake, a Scottish executive and head of the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey. He is also the president of food processing company Merko Gida, whose shares have recently dropped sharply.
The detainees reportedly urged small investors to purchase the shares of certain companies whose value was likely to collapse.
They are alleged to have made 25 million Turkish liras ($15.7 million) in stock manipulation and insider trading, described as the biggest manipulation in the history of the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
High-ranking individuals from a few domestic companies are also among those detained. The Hurriyet daily claimed a lawmaker was also involved in the alleged fraud but could not be detained due to parliamentary immunity.
In 2006, 26 individuals were arrested in Turkey on stock manipulation charges. While 18 of them were released later, six were later charged with leading a criminal organization.