Cemil Önal, a Turkish whistleblower who accused high-ranking politicians in Ankara of corruption and money laundering, repeatedly warned Dutch authorities that he feared for his life before he was fatally shot in a suburb of The Hague, according to Dutch investigative outlet Follow the Money.
Önal, 41, was gunned down Thursday evening on the terrace of a hotel in Rijswijk. He had previously told Dutch prosecutors and journalists that his knowledge of covert payments and financial structures tied to Turkish political figures had made him a target. Days before his killing, Önal met with Follow the Money reporters in The Hague and said, “This will be the death of me.”
Investigative journalist Cevheri Güven, who is based in Germany, said during a YouTube broadcast on Friday that he was in regular contact with Önal and that they had two phone calls in the hours leading up to his death.
Önal shared concerns that suggested his fears were quickly intensifying. He also asked Güven to confirm the name of a person who had previously been linked to a planned assassination attempt against Güven himself.
Önal confided that Dutch police had recently relocated him from his home to a hotel for security reasons, suggesting that a new and credible threat had emerged. Önal believed that the same network that had plotted against Güven might now be targeting him as well. He sounded distressed during the call, Güven later recounted, and he appeared acutely aware that his life was in immediate danger.
Güven’s account aligns with earlier reports that Önal had been under police monitoring and had repeatedly warned both journalists and Dutch authorities about credible threats. The urgency of the police decision to remove him from his home only days before the shooting lends further weight to the theory that Önal was targeted. Less than 24 hours after those phone calls, Önal was shot and killed at the hotel where he had been placed under protective supervision.
Despite Önal’s high level of caution — refusing even to disclose meeting locations for interviews until the last moment — his presence at the hotel was somehow leaked to the killers.
The hotel is reportedly located in a secluded area with controlled access, not a public or easily visible spot. This raised serious questions about how the assassin(s) identified his exact location. Güven emphasized that someone must have leaked Önal’s whereabouts, suggesting a serious breach, possibly by someone Önal trusted or by individuals with access to sensitive security information.
As for the hotel itself, unverified reports claim it was owned by a Turkish national and possibly had been transferred to foreign operators two years earlier. There are also claims that Bayram Bozkurt, a controversial figure and former Turkish prosecutor who was allegedly present during the assassination, might have ownership or partnership links to a hotel in the Netherlands — though it remains unclear whether it is the same hotel where the murder occurred. These details are still unconfirmed and part of ongoing speculation.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service confirmed to Follow the Money that it had been in regular contact with Önal and his lawyer regarding reported threats. However, the service said there were “insufficient concrete leads” to open a formal investigation prior to the attack.
Önal had served for years as the financial manager for Halil Falyalı, a casino magnate and alleged crime boss in northern Cyprus who was assassinated in 2022. Turkey had sought Önal’s extradition on suspicion that he was involved in Falyalı’s killing, but Önal denied any role and claimed Ankara was targeting him to silence his disclosures.
In a series of interviews earlier this year with Follow the Money and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Önal detailed how Falyalı’s gambling operations allegedly generated up to $80 million per month, much of it from illegal online betting platforms. He said around $15 million a month was distributed as “sponsorship payments” to officials connected to ruling parties in both Turkey and northern Cyprus.
Önal described how the funds were moved offshore through corporate entities registered in Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean territory known for its lax financial oversight. He said no questions were asked about the origin or destination of the money, calling Curaçao’s banking environment “ideal for money laundering.”
Önal was recently released after being detained in the Netherlands for more than a year on Turkey’s extradition request. Following his release, he resumed speaking with journalists and provided new details about the alleged bribery scheme, reportedly sharing documentation with both Dutch and international authorities.
Dutch police have launched an investigation into his death. As of Saturday, no suspects had been arrested.