Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday the detention of 429 suspects in a series of nationwide cybercrime operations over the past 10 days, involving offenses including child exploitation, illegal betting and large-scale online fraud.
Yerlikaya said 354 suspects were detained in raids conducted across 35 provinces over the past week and a half, while an additional 75 suspects were taken into custody on Tuesday in an İstanbul-based operation spanning 15 provinces.
“Siber Suçlarla Mücadele kapsamında son 10 gündür süren operasyonlarımızda 354 şüpheliyi yakaladık.”
Ayrıca bu sabah İstanbul merkezli 15 ilde yapılan operasyonumuzda da; 75 şüpheliyi yakaladık ve yakalanan şüpheli sayısı 429 oldu.
Bu kişiler aracılığıyla işlenebilecek çocuk… pic.twitter.com/X4J7Hrsci3
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) November 25, 2025
The minister said the operations prevented citizens from suffering “material and emotional harm” from cybercrimes such as child pornography, phishing scams and illegal betting schemes.
According to the interior ministry, the ongoing operations focus on offenses such as “online child exploitation and harassment,” “fraud” and “illegal betting.”
In total, 117 suspects have been arrested, while judicial supervision measures were imposed on 93 others. Proceedings for the remaining detainees are continuing.
The suspects are accused of possessing child sexual exploitation material and operating fraudulent schemes via social media and phishing sites, using themes such as bungalow rentals, home sales and low-interest loans to deceive victims.
Several suspects allegedly gained access to victims’ mobile banking accounts to illegally obtain funds, ran illegal betting platforms, facilitated unlawful money transfers, promoted these schemes or engaged in loan-sharking.
The raids were carried out in coordination with the police department’s cybercrime unit, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and cybercrime branches in provincial police departments.
Yerlikaya said law enforcement seized assets worth approximately 1.052 billion lira ($23.5 million), including 16 companies, 13 residences, 37 vehicles, eight motorcycles, 14 apartments, seven shops, 13 plots of land, 447 bank accounts, jewelry and other valuables.
Turkish authorities have in past months launched multiple investigations into alleged money laundering, illegal betting and fraud and suspended or seized the operations of dozens of companies.
The operations come amid reports that an evaluation team from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is expected to visit Turkey this month, nearly a year after the country was removed from the organization’s “grey list” for progress in tackling money laundering and terror financing.
Five sources recently told Reuters that the visit is aimed at assessing whether Ankara has maintained the commitments that led to its removal from the list. Failure to do so could result in Turkey being put back under increased monitoring, potentially hurting its improving financial reputation.
According to the sources the FATF delegation plans to hold meetings from November 24 to 28 with MASAK, banks, payment service providers and other institutions across the economy. The review could last as long as three weeks.
Turkey was added to the grey list in October 2021, shortly before the country’s currency entered one of its most severe crises, due to what the watchdog said was insufficient oversight of sectors vulnerable to money laundering, including banking and real estate.