It appears that a significant development has occurred in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s renewed campaign against the illegal gambling market.

Following an investigation into Veysel Şahin’s role in supporting illegal gambling networks in Turkey, his assets were seized, reportedly including around €460 million ($545m)  in cryptocurrency, spread across numerous companies.

This marks an important milestone in Erdoğan’s long-term fight against illegal operators, as it represents the first use of new regulatory powers that allow prosecutors to confiscate assets suspected of involvement in unlawful gambling activities.

The actions were initiated following the work of MASAK — Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board — which has been granted direct authority to review financial transactions in order to “prevent proceeds from criminal activities.”

MASAK’s powers extend across multiple digital sectors, including gambling and betting, e-commerce, fintech and payment systems, as well as insurance and pension organizations.

MASAK’s investigation uncovered unusual financial operations by the group, which accelerated the case against Şahin and even triggered his extradition process.

As a result, Şahin has come under intense scrutiny for violating Turkish laws on betting and gambling on football and other sports, as well as laundering illegally obtained income.

Eliminating Şahin will undoubtedly be a landmark event in Erdoğan’s campaign against the illegal market — the removal of a key figure and a clear demonstration of what he has described as the evil “worse than terrorism” for modern youth.

MASAK, the authority responsible for monitoring Turkey’s black market, has received new powers to review financial transactions aimed at “preventing criminal proceeds.”

Since February 1, MASAK has been authorized to monitor online transactions and enforce user identification procedures, with the directive emphasizing strengthened measures “to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.”

Earlier, a special task force conducted a raid in December, during which 42 suspects were detained in a major illegal betting investigation. Like the operation against Şahin, the raid resulted in asset seizures, including bank accounts and crypto wallets.

Throughout 2026, Turkish authorities have focused on international cooperation and cross-border actions to strengthen the fight against the black market, and the successful extradition of Şahin will be an important first step in that direction.

Source

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