Turkey conducts major illegal betting and money laundering crackdown

Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced a major operation targeting illegal betting and money laundering activities in Istanbul. The crackdown, coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command, was timed to disrupt illegal betting traffic ahead of the Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş football match.

Authorities identified 345 illegal betting sites and 110 different payment methods. As part of the operation, judicial decisions were made to block access to approximately 98,000 internet sites linked to these activities. Furthermore, 1,200 bank accounts belonging to 1,048 real and legal persons were seized. Investigations have been launched against those involved for violating Law No. 7258 and for crimes related to laundering proceeds from illegal activities.