Newsletters
Turkish authorities have seized assets belonging to alleged illegal betting suspect Veysel Sahin, including cryptocurrency holdings worth €460 million (nearly $550 million), prosecutors said Friday.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the seizure was carried out as part of an investigation into Sahin, who is accused of providing infrastructure support to illegal betting platforms and facilitating unlawful gambling activities.
Acting on a report prepared by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, known as MASAK, prosecutors ordered the freezing of Sahin’s crypto assets held at global companies.
The €460 million in cryptocurrency was frozen by the international platform where the account is registered, officials said.
The investigation is being conducted by the Smuggling, Narcotics and Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Sahin is under investigation on charges including violating Türkiye’s law regulating betting and games of chance in football and other sports competitions, and laundering assets derived from crime.
According to the MASAK report, authorities determined that Sahin obtained unjust financial gains through illegal betting activities.
Based on the findings, prosecutors seized Sahin’s movable and immovable property, company and partnership shares, bank deposits, investment accounts, and assets held in cryptocurrency markets and exchanges, acting ex officio to prevent the laundering of proceeds of crime.
Authorities said extradition procedures for Sahin to Türkiye are currently ongoing.
No further details were immediately available.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
