Türkiye detains 43 in operation against illegal betting, aggravated fraud

ANKARA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) — A total of 43 suspects have been detained in a large-scale operation targeting illegal betting and aggravated fraud across 21 provinces in Türkiye, with a transaction volume of 1 billion Turkish liras (24.4 million U.S. dollars) in their accounts, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.

The operations were conducted across 21 provinces, including Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, Izmir and Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X, without specifying the time frame of the operations.

Of those detained, eight have been formally arrested, and judicial control measures were implemented for 29 of them, he said, adding that the remaining suspects are still being investigated.

The suspects were found to have facilitated illegal betting and illegal money transfers through websites, the Turkish minister said.

They posted fake advertisements offering “electric bicycles, mobile phones, and investment consulting” on social media platforms, he said.

The authorities also seized a large number of mobile phones, SIM cards, computers, bank cards, and digital materials, he added. ■