Turkish Payment Service Papara Implicated in $287M Money-laundering Scheme Tied to Illegal Bookies

A large-scale money-laundering network tied to illegal online betting has been uncovered in Turkey, Türkiye Today reports. According to the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, up to 40 million citizens may have been affected by the operations, with payment platform Papara allegedly serving as a key part of the system.

Prosecutors claim that illegal betting websites built a network of intermediaries who accepted deposits from players and transferred the funds to operators, charging commissions between 4% and 15%. An anonymous witness told investigators that such a system could not have operated without local payment providers, identifying Papara as the largest platform involved.

An audit by the Central Bank of Turkey found that between 2021 and 2023, more than 26,000 Papara accounts were used on 102 illegal betting sites, processing around $287 million in suspicious transactions. The money was first moved to 274 bank accounts and later transferred to five cryptocurrency wallets linked to gambling organizers.

According to witness testimony, the total annual volume of similar operations could have reached $1.19 billion, suggesting the true scale of the underground payment network may far exceed the confirmed audit figures.

Founded in 2015, Papara quickly became one of Turkey’s most popular fintech platforms. In May 2025, its founder Ahmet Faruk Karslı and several top executives were arrested, and the company was placed under the control of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).

Prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of up to 28 years for Karslı and four other defendants. The indictment alleges that Papara built a corporate structure integrated with illegal betting operators, using its financial tools to launder gambling proceeds.

Earlier, Turkish analysts estimated that the country’s economy loses around $40 billion annually due to unregulated gambling activities.