35 people were arrested in eight cities for facilitating the transfer of funds earned through illegal cryptocurrency betting platforms.
Turkish prosecutors confiscated $40 million in cryptocurrency and arrested 35 people in eight cities on Oct. 20 for operating an illegal crypto betting platform, according to local news outlets.
According to reports, Turkish law enforcement has been following the organization for quite some time.
The suspects were arrested for breaking the law regarding the organization of betting and chance games in football and other sports competitions.
A total of 46 suspects were named in the arrest warrant. The remaining 11 have yet to be identified.
Halil Falyal, who owns multiple gambling establishments in Northern Cyprus, his wife, and his head of operations in gambling establishments are also among the 35 people arrested. Despite the lack of evidence, prosecutors believe Falyal and his wife led the organization.
Illegal money transfer
Members of the organization handled the transfer of funds obtained from illegal betting using their bank and challenger bank accounts.
Following the collection of funds earned through illegal crypto betting platforms, the members distributed the funds by sending them to a few determined crypto wallets belonging to organization members, including Falyal, his wife, and his head of operations.
After taking a cut, the funds would be re-sent to their owners’ crypto wallets in exchanges.
The organization had approximately 666 Bitcoin (BTC) and over 14 million Tether at the time of the operation (USDT). The funds totaled nearly $40 million, which prosecutors seized.
2.5 billion lire earned
However, authorities discovered that the organization made 118,148 transfers from their accounts to crypto exchange wallets. The organization earned 2.5 billion Turkish Liras, or more than $134 million, from these transfers.
The prosecutors also discovered that the money was divided among 11 members of the organization, including Falyal and his wife.
Turkish Minister requests cooperation
Süleyman Soylu, Turkey’s Minister of Internal Affairs, shared the details of the operation with the public after it was completed.
Soylu stated that Turkey is working hard to prevent such criminal activities and urged international cooperation to develop a fully effective solution.
He stated:
Turkey is sensitively working with all its institutions to prevent the proceeds of crime and illegal betting, as well as the transfer of these proceeds via crypto. Europe and all countries must manage this process by following a common rule set
To read our blog on “Bitcoin mining difficulty has risen by 13%, highest rise since May 21,” click here
