New development in the illegal betting investigation involving celebrities

Within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into 23 artists and social media influencers identified as promoting and advertising illegal betting, 16 suspects were detained, including artist Mehmet Ali Erbil, singer Serdar Ortaç, musician Zorbey Erkoçlar, social media influencer İbrahim Yılmaz with 19 million followers, Russian-Turkish influencer Aleksander Mensikof, and Esma Sözen, who has 1.3 million followers.

Following their processing at the police station, the 16 suspects detained as part of the investigation were brought to the Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

The suspects, whose statements were taken, were then referred to the duty Criminal Court of Peace with a request for arrest. House arrest was ordered for artist Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç, who were among the suspects.

12 SUSPECTS, INCLUDING İBRAHİM YILMAZ, WERE ARRESTED

Among the suspects, 12 individuals—including influencer İbrahim Yılmaz, who has 19 million followers on social media, as well as Emirhan Karauç, Aleyna Göreci, Emircan Çelik, Ramazan Karkin, Aleksandr Maenshıkov, Muhammet Sümertaş, Esma Sözen, Soner Kabakçı, Yağmur Şifa Yaprak, Sefa Caner Sarıçam, and Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçlar—were arrested and sent to prison.

JUDICIAL CONTROL MEASURES APPLIED TO 2 SUSPECTS

Among the suspects referred to the courthouse, a judicial control measure consisting of a travel ban and a signature requirement was applied to Doğukan Demirtaş, while a judicial control measure was also applied to the juvenile suspect (SSÇ) Fuat Emre Nalbant.

REQUEST TO BLOCK ACCESS TO THE ACCOUNTS OF ARRESTED INFLUENCERS

Within the framework of the ongoing investigation, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had requested the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace to block access to the social media accounts of 12 suspects arrested yesterday, including influencers with large followings such as İbrahim Yılmaz, Emirhan Karauç, Aleyna Göreci, Emircan Çelik, Ramazan Karkin, Aleksandr Maenshıkov, Muhammet Sümertaş, Esma Sözen, Soner Kabakçı, Yağmur Şifa Yaprak, Sefa Caner Sarıçam, and Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçlar.

COURT ACCEPTS PROSECUTOR'S REQUEST

As part of the investigation conducted by the Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Prosecutor's Office's request to block access to social media accounts was accepted by the 4th Criminal Court of Peace. While an access ban was issued for the accounts of 8 suspects, the review regarding the accounts of the 4 other arrested social media influencers continues in line with the Prosecutor's Office's request.

News Source: İHA