Turkish police have detained 49 people and seized 23 companies including a TV station and a bank as part of an investigation into illegal betting operations in İstanbul, the Anka news agency reported.
İstanbul prosecutors have issued detention warrants for a total of 59 suspects as part of the investigation.
Among the 49 suspects detained so far during raids on several locations in İstanbul is businessman Erkan Kork, the owner of Flash TV, Pozitifbank and PayFix digital payment service, which are among the 23 companies that have been seized.
The suspects are accused of “forming a criminal organization,” “money laundering” and violating a law that regulates betting and games of chance in football and other sports competitions.
According to the prosecutors, Kork entered the financial sector in 2014 by founding Troyin Bilişim and later established PayFix to launder illegal betting revenues. Kork allegedly integrated illegal betting platforms into PayFix’s financial software, enabling several foreign-based virtual betting sites to operate in Turkey.
Reports from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and Turkey’s central bank identified 855 accounts linked to illegal betting in PayFix’s database. These accounts were involved in more than 80,000 financial transactions.
More than $115 million laundered
Investigators found that a total of 4.22 billion lira ($115 million) was transferred from these accounts to cryptocurrency service providers through nearly 50 million transactions between August 21 and Oct 19, 2023.
Prosecutors allege that Kork and his associates used the laundered funds to acquire Pozitifbank and expand their financial network, establishing companies such as Capital Türk Holding, the Aypara Payment Institution and Ininal.
Authorities seized assets linked to the illegal betting network, including 17 residential properties, nine plots of land, an office and 13 vehicles. They also confiscated suspects’ personal bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
Additionally, 23 companies and their 114 associated vehicles were seized, along with corporate partnership shares and company cryptocurrency wallets. The total value of the seized assets is estimated at 6.9 billion lira ($188 million).
Crackdown on illegal betting
Gambling in Turkey is strictly regulated. Turkey banned casinos in 1998, and it banned non-state online gambling in 2006. There is a state lottery (Milli Piyango), and betting services exist as well as some legal online gambling, but illegal gambling continues, particularly related to professional football. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) recently introduced penalties for clubs involved in illegal betting promotions, including fines and potential point deductions for repeat violations.