🔨Turkey🇹🇷: Central Bank revokes Papel payment provider's license in money laundering case

🔨Turkey🇹🇷: Central Bank revokes Papel payment provider's license in money laundering case
Following the operation against cryptocurrency scammers, a new criminal investigation has emerged in Turkey.
➡️ Circumstances: the decision to revoke the license was made on September 18. Eight months earlier, an Istanbul court had ordered the seizure of Papel's assets and appointed the state Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) as trustee of the company as part of an investigation into money laundering and illegal betting. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched the investigation based on an audit conducted by the Central Bank and the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
➡️ The case: the company obtained a license to operate as an electronic money institution in October 2022. According to the prosecution, proceeds from fraud, illegal betting and foreign exchange trading were converted into digital assets and subsequently laundered through a multi-stage scheme involving shell companies in Turkey and abroad. MASAK identified transactions totaling USD 35 million and connections to Dubai🇦🇪, Georgia🇬🇪, Cyprus🇨🇾 and EU🇪🇺 countries.
➡️ Warning sign: authorities identified a rapid increase in Papel's capital, from USD 143,000 to more than USD 6 million. At the same time, the company was reporting losses. Prosecutors paid particular attention to a USD 17 million transfer made by the company's director, the source of which could not be determined.
➡️ Those involved: raids in Istanbul and seven provinces resulted in 38 people being arrested, with 15 placed in pretrial detention. Charges were brought against 44 suspects as part of the investigation, including Papel's director, Seyhan İbrahim Yıldırım. As of January 2026, Papel and Yıldırım's second company, P Tech, a software provider for banks, employed more than 150 people, while Papel had 200,000 customers.