- Turkey and Tether are currently taking action against organized crypto crime, with investigators focusing on illegal digital gambling, unlicensed payment service providers and commercial money laundering.
- They are said to have misused cryptocurrency to conceal financial flows for years. The authorities speak of “systematic operations” at national and international levels.
Of particular note is a single operation in which more than $500 million in digital assets were frozen. The investigators identified wallets, bank accounts, real estate and company investments that belong to a network that extends beyond national borders.
At the center are two Turkish citizens who are accused of running illegal betting offices and setting up parallel, equally illegal payment infrastructures. Authorities believe these structures have moved massive amounts of dollars in USDT over the years to conceal transactions and circumvent government controls.
Tether as a global investigative partner
Tether played a central role in the long-planned operation. The stablecoin issuer confirmed that it actively supports the Turkish authorities and freezes wallets as soon as there is sufficient initial suspicion of a crime. Turkey is now one of the largest “clients” in Tether’s global investigative cooperation with national law enforcement authorities.
According to its own information, the company has frozen more than 3.4 billion dollars worldwide and accompanied over 1,800 cases in 62 countries. The collaboration shows how strongly Tether is now committed as an operational partner in the fight against money laundering.
For Turkey, this cooperation is part of the tools to track international payment flows that would be difficult to record using traditional banking systems.
At the same time, the authorities are intensifying their measures against illegal gambling, which is considered one of the main drivers of unofficial crypto payment networks. For example, the Darkex platform was blocked, while investigators simultaneously took action against operating structures that were said to have used cryptocurrencies to camouflage stakes and payouts. Authorities emphasize that these networks not only cause economic damage, but also have links to serious organized crime.
Insecure cantonists
The latest measures are part of a strategy that has been intensified following Turkey’s removal from the FATF Gray List. The FATF Gray List is an official classification of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)which highlights those countries that have shortcomings in combating money laundering and terrorist financing – but at the same time are ready to address these shortcomings.
These countries are under increased scrutiny and must implement a binding reform plan. The FATF regularly publishes progress reports and checks whether the measures are effective.
A country on the gray list is not considered a high-risk state, but is considered a problem state with conditions. This has concrete consequences: international banks, payment service providers and financial institutions have to check transactions from these countries more strictly. This leads to higher compliance costs, delayed payments and sometimes limited access to global financial markets.
Türkiye with Tether against the crypto mob
Turkey was removed from the list in 2024, but on the condition that reforms were carried out. At the same time, the deletion meant that Turkey demonstrated continued enforcement of anti-money laundering rules. This is the background to the current sweeping attack against organized crypto crime.
The Erdogan regime is signaling that it does not want to fundamentally restrict cryptocurrencies, but does want to take consistent action against misuse. The current investigations show that Turkey is prepared to attack large and internationally networked structures – and is thus sending a clear signal to the entire industry.
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