Turkey confiscates $40 million in cryptocurrencies in illegal betting case

According to Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, it will be difficult for countries to fight financial crimes if the world does not come to a consensus

21.10.2022 - 13:55

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2 min

What’s new? The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of 46 suspects as part of an investigation into illegal betting carried out in eight provinces. In a simultaneous operation in Ankara, Batman, Bingöl, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Muş, Van, and Yozgat, $40 million worth of cryptocurrency was confiscated. According to a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office, the Smuggling and Organized Crime Investigation Bureau ordered the detention of an Ankara-based criminal organization that was found to have violated the Law on Arrangement of Betting and Games of Chance in Football and Other Sports Competitions.

Information on the DailySabah website

Results of the investigation. It was found that the suspects acted as intermediaries in the transfer of money received from illegal bets, and sent funds to the crypto accounts of the criminal organization, including the murdered criminal authority Halil Falyalı and his wife. A total of 148 transactions worth 2,5 billion Turkish liras ($134,3 million) were made to their accounts. Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu said:

“This operation came out of Turkish Cyprus and is linked to the murder of Halil Falyalı. A transfer of approximately TL 2,5 billion of money occurred. Approximately $40 million of money has been confiscated at the moment. But this is just the beginning.”

According to Soylu, it will be difficult for countries to fight financial crime on their own if Europe and the rest of the world do not come to a consensus.

Earlier, US authorities seized $30 million in cryptocurrency that was stolen from the Ronin Network sidechain by hackers from North Korea in March 2022. Erin Plante, senior director of investigations at analyst firm Chainalysis, said the refund was a record for US law enforcement. In July 2021, police in London seized £180 million ($200 million) in cryptocurrency linked to money laundering.

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