The founder of payments platform Papara has been arrested in Turkey over illegal gambling allegations.
Turkish prosecutors Tuesday arrested 13 suspects, including the founder and chairman of online payment platform Papara, in a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling operations.
Papara founder Ahmed Faruk Karslı was among those detained in raids across Istanbul that began at around 5am local time. The tycoon faces charges of establishing and being a member of a criminal organisation and laundering the proceeds of crime. Authorities seized assets worth TL5 billion ($128.4 million).
Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) had determined that criminals were using Istanbul-headquartered Papara accounts to transfer illicit funds and finance illegal betting.
The swoop comes two months after PayFix’s chairman and others were detained on charges of money laundering and running an unauthorised betting network. TCMB, Turkey’s Central Bank, has halted the operations of PayFix, Aypara and Ininal as part of the illegal betting probe.
İstanbul’da “Yasa Dışı Bahis” suçuna yönelik Papara A.Ş.'ye bugün (27 Mayıs) düzenlediğimiz eş zamanlı operasyonlarda; örgüt elebaşının da içerisinde bulunduğu 13 şüpheli yakalandı.
İstanbul Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı ile Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü Siber Suçlarla Mücadele Daire… pic.twitter.com/beg8cBIo8P
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) May 27, 2025
Illegal gambling charges relate to 26,000+ Papara accounts
The Papara investigation found individuals placed illegal bets through accounts opened in the names of 26,012 people, conducting transactions totalling TL12.9 billion. The money collected in these accounts was transferred to 274 different accounts. It was determined the funds were transferred from these accounts to crypto wallet accounts belonging to five individuals associated with four different illegal betting sites.
The authorities acted following an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Cyber Crimes Combating Branch Directorate, under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the General Directorate of Security’s Cyber Crime Combating Department.
Minister Yerlikaya said: “I congratulate our governor of Istanbul, our Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office who coordinated the operations, our Istanbul Provincial Police Chief who carried out the operations, our heroic police officers and our MASAK employees.
“Illegal betting is a crime that threatens the future of not only individuals but also society.
“We continue our fight against illegal betting and cyber fraud with determination for the safety of our citizens.”
Papara valued at $2bn+
According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, authorities seized assets including eight companies led by PPR Holding Inc, yachts, five boats, three safe deposit boxes, 74 vehicles and seven apartments and villas.
Papara, founded in 2015, provides online money transfers, foreign-exchange transactions and bill-payment services. The company achieved a valuation of over $1 billion, becoming the first Turkish fintech to do so, and is now worth an estimated $2 billion.
According to Papara’s website, it has more than 23 million personal users and services more than one million businesses. Its users make more than 31 million transactions each month. Papara offers prepaid card, domestic and international money transfers, in-app payments, insurance, investment products and services.
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