Turkey arrests 46 in operation against illegal betting organisation
Authorities claim to have confiscated more than €40m in crypto assets.
Turkey.- Police in Turkey say they’ve detained 46 people and confiscated more than €40m in crypto assets in an operation against a criminal betting group. Simultaneous arrests were made in Ankara, Batman, Bingöl, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Muş, Van and Yozgat.
The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor says that those arrested will be processed for violations of Law No. 7258 on fair betting on sports. It is alleged that they were members of an Ankara-based criminal gang that ran illegal sports betting and sent profits to a vast number of cryptocurrency accounts.
Some accounts are reported to belong to Halil Falyali, a Turkish Cypriot businessman who was shot dead at his home in Kyrenia, Cyprus, earlier this year. Prosecutors say the gang processed nearly TL 2.5 billion (€136m) in digital currencies.
Turkey’s Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu said authorities had confiscated around a third of that amount and insisted that “this is just the beginning”.
Online sports betting in Turkey is only permitted via the national lottery, which is run by Sisal.
