Illegal betting investigation: House arrest for Serdar Ortaç and Mehmet Ali Erbil

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office determined that online illegal betting sites were being advertised on accounts belonging to certain influencers with large followings and celebrities as part of an investigation into allegations of encouraging illegal betting.

Within the scope of the investigation, detention warrants were issued for 23 suspects, including singer Serdar Ortaç and presenter Mehmet Ali Erbil. A simultaneous operation was carried out this morning to apprehend the 23 individuals.

The referral document sent by the prosecutor's office to the duty criminal judgeship of peace as part of the investigation has been obtained.

In the referral document, it was alleged that the suspects committed the crime of "encouraging individuals to place bets or play games of chance based on sports competitions through advertising or other means" by encouraging the public to engage in illegal betting or games of chance, which are described as "digital drugs" for society.

The document stated that the illegal betting and gambling sites being promoted were based abroad, and pointed out that in similar investigations conducted for the same crime, suspects had fled abroad after their statements at the courthouse and continued their activities there.

The document noted that it was highly probable that the detained suspects would continue their activities abroad after their procedures at the courthouse, and that there was a suspicion of flight.

The referral document stated that the act was grave due to the destruction that illegal betting and gambling cause to the institution of the family, especially among young people and children.

During the operation, 16 people, including Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç, were apprehended, while it was determined that 5 people were abroad. The apprehended suspects were referred to judicial authorities after their procedures were completed.

HOUSE ARREST DECISION FOR ORTAÇ AND ERBIL

Serdar Ortaç and Mehmet Ali Erbil were referred to the criminal judgeship of peace with a request for arrest after their statements. Ortaç and Erbil were released under judicial control with house arrest.

In the investigation, Sefa Caner Sarıçam, Esma Sözen, and Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçkar had also been arrested. Along with Serdar Ortaç, a child under the age of 18, E.N., who was dragged into crime, was also released under judicial control.

Making statements after the decision, Ortaç said:

"I was released under judicial control, I am very regretful. If I set a bad example for society, may God forgive me. This gambling plague still causes me trouble, what a curse it is. I apologize to everyone, damn it. It took my home, my money, my marriage, my health, and now it has dragged me to the courthouse.

I don't know how else to condemn this gambling, how to explain it to the people. They invited me to a hotel opening, a restaurant opening in Malta. They tricked me there. You can't say anything when you are abroad. I am regretful, I am sad. Everyone has become a gambler, there are at least 50 million gamblers. If you don't quit, such things will happen to all of you, quit. I will be under supervision. I hope it doesn't affect the concerts. Mehmet Ali Erbil is the same, he was with me in Malta. Everything happened without his knowledge either. He is innocent."

FIRST STATEMENT FROM MEHMET ALİ ERBİL, WHO WAS GRANTED HOUSE ARREST

Making a statement in front of the courthouse after his procedures, Mehmet Ali Erbil said, “I said it on my social media. In Malta, where we went, they tried to push us into such an event. I said on the live broadcast, 'I did not play this virtual gambling, I do not recommend it to anyone.'

I said it with my own mouth on the live broadcast. If I had gone to such a thing, to such a place, they would have killed me for saying such a thing.

Because these men earn their bread from here, but I am still very regretful for being involved in such an event.

Even though I was not a part of this virtual gambling, which really does not suit me, they still tried to show me as if I were inside this platform.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had issued detention warrants for 23 suspects, including social media influencers and some famous names, in the investigation conducted into allegations of encouraging illegal betting.

It was determined that among the suspects alleged to have appeared in illegal betting advertisements were singer Serdar Ortaç, presenter Mehmet Ali Erbil, former footballer Batuhan Karadeniz, social media influencers İbrahim Yılmaz, Muzaffer Zorbey Erkoçlar, Sefa Caner Sarıçam, and Russian and Turkish citizen Aleksander Mensikof.

In the operation organized by the teams of the Istanbul Police Department, 16 of the suspects, including Mehmet Ali Erbil and Serdar Ortaç, were detained.

It was learned that 5 of the suspects were abroad, and efforts to apprehend the other 2 were ongoing.

News Source : İHA