Turkish police arrest 21 in online bookmaking operation

By Hamdi Celikbas and Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish security forces arrested 21 suspects on Friday during an operation into illegal online bookmaking, according to a security source.

Simultaneous operations in 13 provinces based in the capital Ankara were launched as part of a police anti-cyber-crime probe, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Many digital materials, documents, and cash worth 1.5 million Turkish lira ($280,550) were seized in operations at the suspects’ addresses.

One of the suspects, identified by the initials M.G., is said to be a TV programmer and also a managing treasurer at one of the organizations involved, said the source.

The suspects -- said to have contacted each other using encrypted cellphones and communication programs -- were allegedly transferring the money they got from illegal online bookmaking to the bank accounts of third parties.

Under the scheme, millions of Turkish lira, withdrawn from bank ATMs by “field staff” through QR codes and cellphone apps without a card, were reportedly being transferred to Istanbul via armored cargo vehicles.

The scheme also reportedly worked with companies in Istanbul that trade foreign currency and gold.

The suspects allegedly transferred money which they exchanged for gold, foreign currency and cyrptocurrency bitcoin and send them to front companies they set up in the U.K., Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Malta.

The money transferred abroad is estimated to be around $340 million yearly.

Assets -- equal to some 106 million Turkish lira ($20 million) -- of high-level members of the organization in Turkey were confiscated, the source added.

The investigation is still underway.