Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek announced that judicial proceedings have been initiated against 137 suspects within the scope of four separate investigations conducted under the coordination of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices in Antalya, Gaziantep, Istanbul, and İzmir.
According to the announcement made by Gürlek on his social media account, the operations were carried out within the scope of investigations into charges of aggravated fraud, money laundering, illegal betting, smuggling, forgery of official documents, tax crimes, and international drug trafficking.
In the investigation in Antalya, action was taken against an organized fraud network suspected of purchasing high-value goods from tradespeople and firms in exchange for post-dated checks after establishing trust in the market, and then disposing of these goods at low prices before the checks matured. In this context, 8 suspects were detained.
In Gaziantep, an operation was conducted against 33 suspects alleged to have illegally transferred foreign currency brought into the country through illicit means back abroad via individuals, workplaces, and companies. Minister Gürlek reported that a money flow exceeding 122 billion TL was detected in the suspects' accounts between 2021 and 2026.
In the investigation in Istanbul, proceedings were initiated against 58 suspects regarding a criminal organization alleged to have facilitated illegal online betting, directed citizens to betting networks, and used payment panels integrated into illegal betting sites. It was noted that a large number of digital materials were seized during the searches.
In İzmir, proceedings were initiated against 38 suspects regarding an organized crime network determined to be managed from Belgium and engaged in international drug trafficking. Within the scope of the investigation, 87 real estate properties, 18 vehicles, 4 private boats, 14 company partnership shares, bank accounts, and other assets worth approximately 1 billion TL, which were assessed to have been obtained from crime, were seized.
News Source: 12punto
