Illegal Betting Operation Based in Adana (May 2026)

Adana-Based Illegal Betting Operation is a comprehensive investigation and arrest operation coordinated by the Adana Public Prosecutor’s Office Office for the Investigation of Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering Crimes, carried out simultaneously across 21 provinces in Türkiye on 14 May 2026. Under the investigation targeting charges of “forming an organization for the purpose of committing crimes,” “illegal betting,” “qualified fraud using information systems,” “bribery,” and “money laundering of assets derived from crime,” raids were conducted at 228 separate addresses, resulting in the detention of a total of 161 suspects.

^{154 suspects arrested in the Adana-based illegal betting operation at the courthouse, 17 May 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Regarding the financial scale of the operation, it was announced that, within the framework of analyses by the MASAK (Presidency of the Investigation of Financial Crimes), suspicious financial movements and money laundering activities amounting to approximately 100 billion Turkish liras and 2 billion US dollars were identified. Following the judicial process, TV commentator and journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and Selahattin Akın Uzun, alleged ringleader of the criminal organization, were detained.

The investigation initiated by the Adana Public Prosecutor’s Office Office for the Investigation of Terrorism Financing and Money Laundering Crimes is based on extensive technical and physical surveillance operations. The following evidence and analytical tools were evaluated collectively:

• Reports from the Presidency of the Investigation of Financial Crimes (MASAK)

• Technical and physical surveillance operations

• Bank transaction analyses

• Digital material examinations

• Cryptocurrency analyses

• HTS (Communication Detection System) recordings

The combined evaluation of these pieces of evidence revealed that the suspects operated as an organized criminal organization, channeling illicit proceeds from illegal betting and qualified fraud via phishing through various financial channels for money laundering.

The investigation file assessed the organization as a professional financial crime syndicate operating at both national and international levels. MASAK analyses and financial reviews confirmed the existence of suspicious financial movements and money laundering activities amounting to approximately 100 billion Turkish liras and 2 billion US dollars.

^{154 suspects arrested in the Adana-based illegal betting operation at the courthouse, 17 May 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

The operation was executed on 14 May 2026, coordinated by the Adana Public Prosecutor’s Office, simultaneously across 21 provinces. Raids were carried out at 228 separate addresses. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced the operation via his social media account, emphasizing that the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance provided joint support for the operation.

The following statements were included in Minister Gürlek’s post: "The discovery that approximately 100 billion liras and 2 billion dollars in illicit proceeds were laundered within the financial system, based on MASAK reports and technical and physical surveillance, fully reveals the scale of the ongoing struggle. The determined stance demonstrated by our Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Treasury and Finance in close coordination is the clearest indication that we will never yield to financial crime organizations or illegal betting networks. I thank the Adana Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Adana Provincial Police Directorate for this operation, which was conducted with patience and great care. We will continue our fight against all criminal structures targeting the sweat and future of our citizens with the same unwavering resolve."

In the initial phase of the operation, 128 suspects were detained; subsequent field operations led to the arrest of 33 additional suspects, bringing the total number of detentions to 161. Seven suspects, after completing procedures at the Provincial Police Directorate’s Cybercrime Unit, were released on the prosecutor’s order. The remaining 154 suspects, including Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and Selahattin Akın Uzun, alleged ringleader of the criminal organization, were transferred to court on 17 May 2026. Police units implemented extensive security measures along the route to the courthouse during the transfers. It was reported that efforts to apprehend 37 suspects for whom detention orders had been issued are ongoing.

^{Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, arrested in the Adana-based illegal betting operation, at the courthouse, 17 May 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

According to information released by the Adana Public Prosecutor’s Office, among the 198 suspects for whom detention orders were issued, the following professional groups are represented:

• 3 bank managers

• 8 police officers

• 4 lawyers

• Journalist and TV commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı

• Selahattin Akın Uzun, alleged ringleader of the criminal organization

The alleged ringleader, Selahattin Akın Uzun, and journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı were detained in Istanbul and subsequently transferred to Adana.

The charges brought against the suspects during the investigation are as follows:

• Forming an organization for the purpose of committing crimes

• Operating illegal betting activities

• Qualified fraud using information systems (including phishing)

• Bribery

• Money laundering of assets derived from crime

According to findings within the investigation, the criminal organization’s illegal betting activities include the following elements:

• Establishment of proprietary software infrastructure and panel systems

• Provision of financial infrastructure for illegal betting websites

• Organization of money transfers via electronic money institutions and virtual POS networks

The channels identified in the investigation as being used by the criminal organization for money laundering are as follows:

• Electronic money institutions

• Bank accounts

• Virtual POS systems

• Foreign exchange offices

• Jewelers

• Front companies

• Cryptocurrency systems

It was also determined that cash conversion and layering operations were conducted through jewelers and foreign exchange offices, and that cryptocurrency systems were actively utilized. Investigation documents particularly emphasize that illicit proceeds were circulated through a “multi-layered financial system.”

The investigation file also contains serious findings regarding mid- and senior-level managers at certain private banks. Strong evidence indicates that these managers:

• Participated in layering operations of illicit proceeds within the banking system

• Assisted in neutralizing blockage and security protocols targeting suspicious financial movements

It was reported that findings were also made regarding certain police personnel. According to these findings, the personnel in question:

• Conducted inquiries into judicial orders for arrest, detention, and search of suspects in exchange for bribes

• Provided information regarding operational procedures

The scale of the suspicious financial movements and money laundering activities identified through MASAK analyses and financial reviews in the investigation file was disclosed to the public by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek. According to the published data, the amount involved is approximately 100 billion Turkish liras and 2 billion US dollars.

The prosecutor’s file determined that Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı’s bank account was not a passive account receiving funds only. Approximately 37.7 million liras were transferred from this account to other accounts assessed as being used for layering. Conversely, approximately 15.7 million liras were deposited into Kütahyalı’s account from accounts within the same structure. Additionally, analysis of electronic money and payment institutions revealed that between 2022 and 2024, a total of 35,201,344 liras were transferred into Kütahyalı’s accounts from six different institutions. This pattern of financial activity, when assessed alongside the organization’s overall operational system, was determined not to constitute ordinary personal financial transactions.

In accordance with court decisions issued during the investigation, the following seizure and preventive measures were implemented:

• Seizure measures applied to 221 real estate properties

• Seizure measures applied to 120 vehicles

• Seizure measures applied to 3 boats

• Appointment of receivers and seizure of 3 electronic payment institutions

• Appointment of receivers and seizure of 3 jewelers

• Appointment of a receiver and seizure of 1 foreign exchange office

• Blocking of access to 8,500 websites offering illegal betting and gambling content

17 May 2026: The 154 suspects who completed procedures at the Cybercrime Unit were transferred to court. Intensive security measures were implemented along the entire route to the courthouse during the transfers.

Following their statements at the prosecutor’s office, Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and Selahattin Akın Uzun, alleged ringleader of the criminal organization, were brought before the on-duty judge. On 18 May 2026, detention orders were issued against them. Proceedings against the other suspects are ongoing.

After being brought to Adana following detention, Kütahyalı made the following statement to journalists while being loaded into a police vehicle at the Forensic Medicine Institution: "We are fine, dad. I don’t have such financial activity. There is a misunderstanding. We will find out."

During the prosecutor’s interrogation, it was reported that Kütahyalı stated: "The financial movements in question are payments sent in return for money owed to me. They were sent as repayment of debt. I have no connection to the crimes mentioned."