Turkish authorities detained 13 people as part of an investigation into the fintech company Papara over suspected money laundering and establishing a crime organization, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.
The report by public broadcaster TRT Haber said the company, which provides online money transfers, foreign-exchange transactions and bill-payment services, was being investigated for "enabling illegal online betting money transfers."
It said prosecutors had ordered the detention of 13 people, including the founder and the chairperson of the company, Ahmed Faruk Karslı, adding that trustees had been appointed to manage the firm during the course of the probe.
In a statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was noted that in the investigation into the crimes of "establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime," "being a member of an established organization," "laundering assets originating from crime" and "violating the Law on the Organization of Betting and Games of Chance in Football and Other Sports Competitions," it was assessed that Papara Elektronik Para A.Ş. pioneered illegal betting money traffic and that illegal betting organizations carried out their money transfers through Papara.
In the statement, quoted by Anadolu Agency (AA) it was said that the company's owner, Karslı, has received a permit to operate as an electronic money institution since 2016, indicating further that the company's accounts can collect fees at each transfer stage related to crypto exchanges and illegal betting, and that the subsequent examination of these accounts does not disrupt betting transactions and allows the company to earn income from these transactions.
The statement stated that, according to reports received from the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), MASAK and other institutions, Papara "is systematically and intensively used in the commission of illegal betting crimes, and that the company facilitates the commission of this crime and the transfer of money in the commission of the crime."
The AA report also said that the statement further indicated that through conducted analysis studies, it was found that 102 of the 26,012 accounts opened through Papara systems were used on different illegal betting and gambling sites, and that the financial illicit volume obtained from these accounts was high.
"It has been understood that five crypto wallet account owners identified are in cooperation with the leaders of illegal betting organizations, and that the payment institution named Papara is in a covert agreement process with illegal betting organizations."
It was learned that 13 suspects, including Karslı, were detained in the operation.
Yerlikaya said authorities determined that the company was allowing users to open accounts to transfer illegal betting income. In a statement on X, the minister said that 10 companies, bank accounts and assets of the detained people were seized as part of the investigation.
According to a report by the financial crimes unit, more than 26,000 accounts were determined to have been used for illegal online betting, and they made transactions worth TL 12.9 billion ($330 million), Yerlikaya added.
"Assets worth approximately TL 5 billion were seized, including 10 companies, including Papara A.Ş., bank and crypto asset accounts belonging to suspects, six sea vessels, 74 vehicles and eight houses," Yerlikaya wrote on X.
The company was founded in 2015 and the next year received an electronic money institution license from the country's regulatory agency, its website said.
It expanded abroad by purchasing Pakistan-based SadaPay last year and Spain-based Rebellion Pay in 2023. Its website said it had 21 million users as of last year.
PPR Holding owns Papara, and its controlling share is held by Karslı. Calculations based on Trade Registry data show that as of May last year, he owned approximately 90% of the company.