 in transactions, Turkish media reported Monday, citing Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.){kind=link}
Turkish authorities have launched two new operations targeting illegal betting networks in Antalya and Mersin provinces, taking legal action against 233 suspects whose accounts allegedly saw more than TL 18 billion ($395 million) in transactions, Turkish media reported Monday, citing Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
Gürlek said on X that the operations targeted illegal betting and online gambling networks that he said were threatening “the future of our children and our economic security.”
Yasa dışı bahis ve sanal kumar başta olmak üzere, milletimizin helal kazancına göz diken suç örgütleriyle mücadelemizi amansız bir kararlılıkla sürdürüyoruz. Bu kapsamda; evlatlarımızın geleceğini ve ekonomik güvenliğimizi hedef alan yasa dışı bahis şebekelerine karşı bugün şafak…
— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) May 18, 2026
An operation coordinated by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was carried out simultaneously across 20 provinces after months of technical and physical surveillance by police, Gürlek said.
A total of 139 teams took part in the raids, which targeted 183 suspects whose accounts allegedly showed a transaction volume exceeding TL 11.3 billion ($248 million), according to the minister.
In a second operation ordered by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the gendarmerie, authorities targeted what Gürlek described as an organized criminal network accused of laundering the proceeds of foreign-based illegal betting websites.
Fifty suspects whose accounts allegedly had a transaction volume of TL 7 billion ($153.5 million) were detained in the Mersin-based operation, while luxury vehicles, apartments and other assets alleged to have been obtained through criminal activity were seized, Gürlek said.
“No criminal group is above justice. Our fight against crime and criminal organizations will continue without compromise, with the authority granted by law, until they are rooted out,” Gürlek said.
The announcement came days after a large-scale, Adana-based investigation into alleged illegal betting, aggravated fraud, bribery and money laundering, in which detention warrants were issued for 200 suspects, including pro-government commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who was detained at his home in İstanbul and later arrested.
Turkish media reports said the suspects included three bank executives, eight police officers and four lawyers. Authorities also seized 221 properties, 120 vehicles and three boats, while trustees were appointed to several companies and businesses.
Kütahyalı and Selahattin Akın Uzun, who is accused of leading the criminal organization, were later arrested as part of the investigation.
Turkish authorities have carried out several large-scale illegal betting operations in recent months. Last week, police detained 108 people in raids across 35 provinces as part of an İstanbul-based investigation into an illegal betting and gambling network. Police also blocked access to more than 5,000 websites allegedly involved in illegal betting, advertising or payment transactions.
Turkey has stepped up financial crime investigations in recent years after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog, put the country on its “grey list” in 2021 over weaknesses in its system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Turkey was removed from the list in June 2024 after the FATF said Ankara had made “significant progress” in improving its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing framework.
Since then Turkish authorities have expanded investigations into illegal betting networks, cryptocurrency transfers and payment companies as regulators seek to prevent illicit funds from moving through the financial system.
According to a 2025 activity report published by MASAK, authorities completed 502 analysis files related to illegal betting activities and sent 545 intelligence reports and information notes to the relevant institutions.
The agency said transactions worth 5.1 billion lira ($131 million) linked to accounts allegedly used by illegal betting organizers were suspended as part of anti-money laundering measures.