'Smart Trade Coin' operation in 21 provinces: 1 billion lira worth of real estate seized

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that “SİBERGÖZ-42” operations were carried out in 21 provinces, centered in Ankara, targeting individuals who committed the crime of qualified fraud through a so-called crypto asset trading platform named “Smart Trade Coin” with the promise of “High Profit with Zero Risk.”

Yerlikaya stated the following in his post on X:

"127 suspects who were determined to have obtained 1 billion dollars in illicit gains and carried out international fraud activities were apprehended!

Under the coordination of the General Directorate of Security's Cybercrime Combat Department; as a result of the work carried out by the Ankara Provincial Police Department's Cybercrime Combat Branch; in the operations organized in Ankara-centered Antalya, Istanbul, Izmir, Eskisehir, Usak, Aydin, Mugla, Kutahya, Corum, Balikesir, Denizli, Adana, Bursa, Malatya, Tekirdag, Isparta, Karabuk, Konya, Sirnak, and Samsun regarding the crimes of “Qualified Fraud, Establishing an Organization for the Purpose of Committing Crimes, and Laundering of Assets Derived from Crime”;

It was determined that citizens were directed to invest through the so-called crypto asset trading platform named “Smart Trade Coin” with the promise of “High Profit with Zero Risk,”

Bot applications that perform automatic buy-sell transactions were sold, and

127 suspects were apprehended who carried out international fraud activities and were determined to have obtained 1 billion dollars (approximately 32 billion TL) in illicit gains by creating a “Ponzi Scheme” system, promising earnings to existing users if they brought in new users.

As a result of the operations:

177 real estate properties and 61 movable assets worth 1 billion TL, 1 unlicensed pistol, 1 blank-firing pistol, and numerous digital materials were seized."