Tether Freezes $500M in Turkey’s Illegal Betting Crackdown

** In an unprecedented collaboration with law enforcement, Turkish authorities used Tether to freeze 500 million dollars of cryptocurrency connected to illegal bets.**

In one of the most recent large-scale illegal betting investigations, Turkish authorities confiscated $500 000 of cryptocurrency. The seizure was also facilitated by Tether, which targeted Şeref Yazıcı, an owner of the crypto exchange Darkex.

According to Bloomberg, Tether had a direct collaboration with Turkish law enforcement. The crypto issuer of stablecoins seized assets associated with illegal gambling, a collaboration uncommon between crypto companies and government officials.

Darkex Owner Faces Asset Seizure

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor ordered the seizure of the entire portfolio of Yazici. Prosecutors attributed him to Veysel Sahin, who was an illegal betting kingpin. Yazici is claimed to have operated underground betting rings and provided the technical side.

The analysis was conducted by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, Turkey, and MASAK discovered signs of illegal betting gains. All movable and immovable property was subject to confiscation approved in a criminal court.

The court order included shares, bank deposits, and cryptocurrency holdings. International cryptocurrency companies had frozen the accounts that held them, and they are in the process of restoring the money to Turkey.

Turkey Intensifies War on Illegal Gambling

Police are cracking down on the online betting financial networks in Turkey. In recent months, prosecutors targeted payment platforms and cryptocurrency channels, and regulators suspended money laundering companies’ licenses.

Since 1998, gambling limitations in Turkey have been tightened. In the same year, casinos were outlawed, whereas in 200,6 non-state online gambling was criminalized. The lottery services are legal only when managed by the state.

Turkish authorities argue that illegal gambling is the cause of addiction. These activities drain billions of lira out of the economy annually, and the crackdown is meant to disrupt the payment system under which underground gambling is funded.

Yazıcı became a leader in the crypto industry of Turkey over the last few years. Darkex provided crypto-transfer and crypto-payment systems, entering the market as an important provider of the expanding crypto market in the nation.

The $500 million confiscation constituted one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in Turkey. It demonstrates that the government is increasingly capable of tracking digital property, and its collaboration with Tether demonstrates that crypto companies are paying attention to court decisions.