Turkish authorities seize $40m in cryptocurrency from organisers of illegal betting

The Ankara prosecutor’s office has seized $40m in digital assets as part of an operation to curb illegal sports betting. The Daily Sabah reports.

Authorities have also arrested 46 suspects in connection with the case.

According to investigators, scheme participants acted as intermediaries in transfers of funds derived from illegal bets. The proceeds were directed to the group’s cryptocurrency accounts. The accounts were controlled by Halil Falyal, a Northern Cypriot businessman, his wife and the casino manager.

Falyal was suspected of illegal financial operations and money laundering. He was shot dead in February outside his home. The killing triggered an investigation into the organised scheme of illegal betting he ran, the prosecutor’s office said.

Overall, authorities traced the criminal organisation’s cryptocurrency transactions totalling 2.5 billion Turkish lira (about $134.4 million). The funds were directed to cryptocurrency exchanges both domestically and overseas.

“So far, around $40m has been seized. But this is only the beginning,” said Turkey’s Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

According to him, Turkey uses all its agencies to block cryptocurrency transactions and earnings of organised crime. The operation was carried out by the Financial Crimes Investigation Council and the General Security Directorate, with all its divisions, including intelligence and the anti-smuggling unit, the minister said.

Soylu dismissed claims that Turkey profits from crime and illegal gambling. On the contrary, Europe is one of the centres of such activity, he said, and emphasised that the country is ready to cooperate in a joint fight against crime.

“Countries will fight financial crime on their own if Europe and the rest of the world do not reach a consensus,” Soylu concluded.

In September, Chinese authorities detained 93 suspects who laundered $5.5 billion through cryptocurrencies. The funds were obtained from fraud and gambling.

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