Authorities in Istanbul seize crypto asset company in Turkey – home to one of the largest cryptocurrency markets – as well as 15 other companies suspected of laundering the assets of criminals.

Photo illustration: Traxer/Unsplash.

The Istanbul prosecutors’ office announced on Friday that the COINO Crypto Asset Platform and 15 other companies have been seized on charges of money laundering, and 17 suspects detained.

It said the cryptocurrency company was used as intermediary in the laundering of criminal proceeds “belonging to the suspects and their relatives, which were considered to have assets originating from crime [and] were seized by the decision of the Istanbul Criminal Court of Peace.”

The prosecutors’ office said that the crypto movements were likely worth nearly 770 million US dollars.

“The Prosecutor’s Office stated that 645 of the 802 natural persons who received money from the company’s accounts were linked to crimes such as illegal betting, fraud, and the misuse of bank or credit cards; that 172 of these individuals had been investigated or prosecuted for these offences; and that there are also ongoing investigations and prosecutions against both natural and legal persons who transferred money into the company’s account in connection with similar crimes.” it said.

Turkey’s Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund, TMSF, has appointed trustees to the companies and dismissed their current administrations.

According to Chainalysis, by 2025, Turkey had emerged as one of the largest cryptocurrency markets, recording nearly 200 billion US dollars in annual transactions.

Criminal groups increasingly use crypto because it allows them to move money quickly and across borders while hiding their identities behind anonymous wallet addresses.

The European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority said on July 15 that crypto-asset service providers, CASPs, face “significant money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks” thanks to features like anonymity, cross-border transfers and speed.