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Turkish Authorities Seize Crypto Worth $40M in Illegal Gambling Sting

Investigators are probing a $135 million transaction that links back to organized crime groups in the country's capital city Ankara.

By Oliver Knight
AccessTimeIconOct 20, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:00 a.m. UTC
Ankara, Turkey (Ekrem Osmanoglu/Unsplash)
Ankara, Turkey (Ekrem Osmanoglu/Unsplash)
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A crackdown on illegal gambling in Turkey has led to the seizure of $40 million in cryptocurrency, according to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's office.

Authorities detained 46 suspects across Turkey on suspicion of operating an illegal gambling ring that sent ill-gotten gains to cryptocurrency wallets owned by an Ankara-based criminal organization.

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    • "This operation came out of Turkish Cyprus and is linked to the murder of Halil Falyalı," said Turkey's Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu, as reported in the Daily Sabah. "A transfer of approximately 2.5 billion Turkish lira ($135 million) of money occurred. Approximately $40 million of money has been confiscated at the moment."

    Halil Falyalı is a Turkish casino owner who was murdered in February at his home in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus.

    "This is just the beginning," added Soylu about the law enforcement actions.


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    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Oliver Knight
    Oliver Knight

    Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.

    Follow @OKnightCrypto on Twitter

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