30.12.2025 07:07
In the indictment prepared by the prosecutor regarding the investigation into "betting in football," it was stated that Erden Timur, the former Deputy Chairman of Galatasaray Sportif AŞ, who was arrested, was found to have conducted financial transactions totaling 1 million 309 thousand lira with 93 individuals suspected of illegal betting. It was assessed that these funds were attempted to be laundered by being presented as "real estate sales/ deposits."
It has been reached the prosecution referral letter regarding Erden Timur, who was decided to be arrested by the peace criminal court within the scope of the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the allegation of "betting in football".
144 MILLION 217 THOUSAND TL SENT
The letter states that a total of 144 million 217 thousand lira was sent to the crypto asset platform OKX TR by Timur Real Estate Development Construction and Investment Inc., in which the suspect Erden Timur is a partner, between 2024-2025, and that this money was converted into crypto assets, with approximately 1 million dollars of it sent to accounts belonging to A.T. in foreign exchanges.
It was reported in the letter that mutual money transfers between suspect Erden Timur and A.T. were detected, and it was stated that Timur claimed in his statement that A.T. was his friend and that there was a debt relationship between them. The letter emphasized that considering the amount, nature, and quality of these transactions, they could not be evaluated as a simple creditor-debtor relationship and were contrary to the ordinary course of life.
STRIKING GRAND BAZAAR DETAIL
The letter mentioned that Timur carried out a money transfer of approximately 1 billion lira under the explanation of "gold trading" through a company operating in the Grand Bazaar between 2023-2025, and it was recorded that high-volume transactions were also made through the same company with the Metal Oto Ticaret company belonging to Murat Özkan, Fatih Kulaksız, and Murat Özkaya, as well as Eyüpspor Club during similar dates.
It was emphasized in the letter that the suspect Timur stated that he carried out these transactions to pay for 226 kilograms of gold he borrowed from his father, and that characterizing the money transfers as a simple creditor-debtor relationship was contrary to the ordinary course of life.
The referral letter stated that numerous money transfers were made to the personal account of suspect Erden Timur under the name of real estate payment/earnest money, and it was recorded that Timur claimed in his statement that he conducted his transactions through his personal accounts until 2021, and from that date onwards, he carried out the transactions through his companies.
HIGH AMOUNTS OF ASSETS TRANSFERRED TO PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
The examination revealed that approximately 300 million lira was deposited in cash into Timur's personal accounts within the year 2024, and it was emphasized that conducting transactions on behalf of the company through personal accounts was contrary to the ordinary course of life, and that merchants had an obligation to act like prudent business people. The letter stated that the transactions carried out both violated this obligation and were prohibited under Article 15 of the Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of the Laundering of Proceeds of Crime.
It was recorded that Timur did not provide any written notification regarding the use of his personal accounts on behalf of the companies he was authorized for, and that Timur Real Estate Development Construction and Investment Inc., TG Timur Real Estate and Trade Inc., and Timur Urban Planning and Development Inc., which made high amounts of money transfers, had declared commercial losses in the last 3 years. When the financial movements between the companies and Timur's personal accounts were examined, it was found that a high amount of assets had been transferred to personal accounts, resulting in losses for the companies.
"7 MILLION 541 THOUSAND LIRA SENT IN 18 TRANSACTIONS"
The referral letter stated that there were news and shares indicating that suspect Erden Timur sold 24 apartments to V.Ş., who is under investigation for illegal betting and known to the public as the "betting baron", and it was reported that V.Ş.'s name appeared in a file conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in a 2018 money laundering crime investigation report.
This report indicated that E.U. sent a total of 7 million 541 thousand lira to BTE Kağıthane (NEF) company on behalf of V.Ş. in 18 transactions between 2015-2016, and it was concluded that this amount was laundered by purchasing real estate, stating, "Therefore, the suspect (Erden Timur) is involved in the laundering of the assets obtained from the crime by accepting the unjust gain obtained from illegal betting."
NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS MADE WITH THE ALLEGATION OF FRAUD
Additionally, it was reported that Timur's companies reached a transaction volume of approximately 155 million lira with Peker Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., and that there were numerous fraud allegations regarding both Peker GYO and Erden Timur related to the "Şahinler Group" that were applied for and investigated.
The referral letter also stated that as a result of examining the suspect's account movements, money transactions totaling 1 million 309 thousand lira with 93 individuals suspected of illegal betting were detected, and thus, the money obtained from illegal betting was evaluated as being laundered under the guise of "real estate sale/earnest money" to give the impression that it was obtained through legitimate means. The prosecution requested the arrest of suspect Erden Timur based on strong evidence indicating that he committed the crime of "laundering the proceeds of crime," considering the existing evidence situation, the MASAK report, and the nature and quality of the crime.