Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the arrest of an Iranian national for involvement in illegal gambling sites, money laundering and organized crime.
In addition to the main character, Sadra Amirshaghaghi, three other people have also been detained in connection with the case, and six people are being searched, Yerlikaya wrote in Saturday’s X.
Amir Shaghaghi, also known as Saeed Amiri, was arrested while using the identity of another person to stay in a hotel in Izmir and preparing to flee the country. Turkey’s interior minister also said that Amir Shaghaghi was the head of an organized crime group that operated illegal gambling sites in Iran. It is not yet clear whether he was arrested at the request of Iranian authorities.
The report further states that during the operation, $120,000, €80,000, nine luxury watches, 15 companies worth $500,000, 10 cars, and 17 homes and buildings and partnership stock in nine other companies were identified and discovered. It added that it was seized by court order.
Amir Shaghaghi’s name has long been in the news following accusations by Iranian officials. In an interview with Iran International in September 2021, he claimed that some people are accusing them of running gambling sites because they do not want to reveal the identity of the real administrators. “We are confident that the operators of the gambling sites are located in Iran,” he stressed.
“I am not involved in politics and respect the Islamic Republic, but I wonder why I am consistently portrayed as a central figure on these sites,” Amir Shaghaghi said. told Iran International.
Gambling, which violates Islamic law, is prohibited in Iran. However, many Iranians claim that the network of gambling sites is launched, or at least supported, by the Iranian government, as these sites are free to use Iranian bank payment gateways for transactions. .
According to Iranian media, the operators of these websites have been working with Turkish-based Instagram influencers, Milad Khatami and Davout Hajneh over the past few years to lure Iranians into gambling. He reportedly employed celebrities such as Davoud Ghaffari, also known as Both men were arrested and deported to Iran.
Khatami was sentenced to death in October 2023 on charges including “global corruption” and “promoting widespread corruption.”
The most famous person associated with the gambling site is Iranian rapper Amirhossein Maqsoudrou, better known by his stage name Tatarou. Turkish authorities detained It was then handed over to Iran in December.
Tatarou’s alignment with the regime was evident when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised one of his songs, titled “Nuclear Energy.” Khamenei described it as having a “good melody” and “good content” and expressed satisfaction that it had made the “enemies” nervous.
Although he is being held in Iran, the latest news from Iranian authorities indicates that he has written an apology, which could help the case.
Tatarou also supported Ibrahim Raisi’s unsuccessful campaign in Iran’s 2017 presidential election.
Mehr news agency, which is close to Iran’s hardliners, estimated in 2021 that the total number of visitors to Persian gambling sites exceeded 5 trillion rials (about $200 million annually).
