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Turkish authorities captured 37 suspects in a coordinated operation against Papel, a payment system accused of laundering proceeds from illegal gambling and fraud schemes.
The Istanbul Police Department's Financial Crimes Unit conducted the investigation under the coordination of Istanbul's chief public prosecutor, acting on reports from the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
Police determined that criminal proceeds from illegal gambling and unlicensed forex trading scams were systematically funneled through Papel's electronic payment infrastructure to the financial system and then laundered through numerous domestic and international companies.
The investigation revealed that suspects within the organization—including software engineers, information technology personnel and project managers—actively facilitated the transfer and concealment of criminal proceeds through electronic payment infrastructure, software systems and financial routing mechanisms.
Police identified 41 suspects accused of committing money laundering crimes through their roles in operational, administrative and technical processes.
These suspects allegedly directed criminal proceeds through software systems, managed electronic payment accounts and concealed financial flows.
Authorities issued detention orders for all 41 suspects.
Simultaneous operations in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Balikesir, Mugla, Tokat, Kocaeli and Bursa resulted in the capture of 37 suspects.
During the raids, police searched addresses, seized evidence and conducted asset forfeitures to clarify suspects' roles within the organization, obtain financial and digital evidence, trace proceeds from crimes and preserve evidence.
As part of the investigation, authorities appointed the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (SDIF) as administrator to Papel's payment operations.
Police froze the financial assets of the suspects as the investigation proceeded.
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