THE TRNC IS EVERYWHERE… WHO KNEW WE WERE SUCH A BIG DEAL, MAN…
Northern Cyprus has become a ‘global brand’, especially in the last five years…
The government partners, UBP, DP, and YDP, have left their mark on the literature of “Islamic Religion” by blending ‘piety’ with ‘gambling’…
However, while turning these lands into a ‘virtual gambling hub’, they have caused great harm to Turkey.
The biggest scourge facing Turkey after drugs is virtual gambling.
Unfortunately, while Turkey was struggling in this ‘corrupt cycle’, the TRNC was also torn to shreds in the gears of this cycle…
There is a magic word that frequently appears in the reports of MASAK (Financial Crimes Investigation Board) in Turkey, in the indictments of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and in the statements of those arrested:
TRNC…
Our reputation made its way from American to British courts…
Murat Ağırel, who has achieved great success in investigative journalism, recounts these events with documents and testimonies in his book, ‘Kirli Çark’ [The Corrupt Cycle]…
Our name appears on almost every page of the book…
TRNC pops up everywhere…
Let’s go back in time for a bit, based on the information in the book…
In the early 2000s, a significant amount of money started being deposited into the bank account of an Italian woman named Lorella Razetti…
In Turkey, MASAK inspectors started investigating this woman. They saw that a Turkish man named S.S. was withdrawing the deposited money.
S.S. opened an account in Kyrenia in his mother’s name, and people who gambled deposited money into this account.
Later, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office determined that money was transferred from this account to this man’s company, alongside other individuals in Cyprus named H.F., T.K., B.H., and N.N.
When S.S. bought the company of R.T., a Cypriot citizen, and initiated these operations here, the TRNC authorities were fully asleep at the wheel, of course…
According to the MASAK Report, the money was laundered in Sweden, England, and Cyprus, and transferred to Turkey.
In other words, this place is turned into a ‘laundromat’…
Meanwhile, a company founded in the Caribbean begins operating gambling with a gaming license obtained from the TRNC…
‘Betting’ licenses are granted to ‘several companies’, including those of Halil Falyalı.
The TRNC-based company is mentioned in the MASAK report.
On April 15, 2022, $26.5 million worth of cryptocurrency was transferred to the crypto account of a person named Ö.T.
Another person who gave a statement to the prosecutor in Turkey explains that he started this business in Cyprus…
“The money was collected in Kırıkkale, Turkey, withdrawn in cash, and transported to the TRNC. The money was then handed over in person to A.B., S.B., N.K., and other individuals.“
Another individual stated in their testimony: “In 2020, when I was unemployed, M.S. invited us to Cyprus. We went to an apartment on the ground floor of a 6-7 story building on the main street in Kyrenia. There were 30-40 people working there. Everyone used fake names.
I saw an average of 4,000 different account names per month. I was handling cryptocurrency transfer transactions worth around 2-3 million TL per day. We were purchasing cryptocurrency assets with the money and transferring them to specified accounts.”
Then, suddenly, our government issued the “Decree with the Force of Law on Cash Assets.” Only one person benefited from this ‘decree’. It was published for him and then revoked 22 days later. H.F.’s spouse told the Turkish Public Prosecutor:
“My spouse declared 30 million euros, 10 million dollars, and 10 million pounds worth of cryptocurrency assets to the Tax Office. He also declared 4,500,000 pounds worth of domestic assets, and we paid 13,744,155 TL in taxes to the state. My husband was going to bring his foreign assets here within 6 to 12 months, but he was murdered and couldn’t do it.”
Of course, there are other names involved in the ‘virtual betting’ business…
Bulut Akacan… Arrested on September 1, 2019, on the grounds of illegal virtual betting. 18 computers and 17 cell phones were seized.
Then, a ‘fugitive’ named Comanchero came here. He bought 3 luxury apartments from Akacan in return of $1,200,000.
Then there’s Yaşam Ayavefe…
The famous baron who obtained TRNC citizenship within a month while being sought by Interpol with a Red Notice…
One more name: Veysel Şahin…
After being sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison in 2017 for establishing an organized crime syndicate, he also ended up in Cyprus…
The virtual betting business, which turns over $100 million a month, is run from here.
Police from Turkey came to arrest him. Operation ‘Handicap’ was launched.
V.Ş. escaped to Lebanon on his boat the night before.
One of the employees at this man’s betting site infected all the computers with a virus. In Kyrenia, he embezzled 150,000 TL in two days. When it came to light, they immediately ‘removed’ the employee. They tortured him for 5 hours.
Another one: F.K…
He came to Cyprus from Balıkesir, Turkey, in 2001.
He worked in the casinos of Merit Hotels here. He became a Cyprus Turkish Football Association (KTFF) -registered referee. However, he never practiced because he committed theft and was expelled from refereeing. In 2016, he set up a site and started running illegal betting. He plunged headfirst into this market.
He also made a lot of money from this. Then he fled and moved his site to Ukraine…
The TRNC is the dirtiest cog in Murat Ağırel’s ‘corrupt cycle’; with its official betting licenses, official money laundering decrees, corrupt banks, and service as a haven for fugitives, it has truly become a ‘brand’…
Who knew we were such a big deal, man…
This article was originally published on 14.01.2026
Source: THE TRNC IS EVERYWHERE… WHO KNEW WE WERE SUCH A BIG DEAL, MAN…