The Istanbul penal (nobetci sulh ceza) court on duty has appointed Turkey’s deposit insurance fund TMSF as trustee at fintech IQ Money, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office (@istanbulCBS) said on November 18.

The Istanbul-based company is accused of serving illegal betting schemes in money transfers. Twenty six suspects have been detained, while some company executives were found to be abroad, the prosecutor’s office stated.

'Kept operating even after licence revocation'

IQ Money, launched in 2019, received its electronic money licence from Turkey’s central bank in 2020. In 2023, the central bank revoked the licence. The prosecutors said that the company nevertheless continued to provide for illegal betting schemes.

Six electronic money providers

Since February, Turkey’s government has launched a wide range of judicial operations. Each day, people are arrested and companies are seized.

(See the latest situation with company seizures here and in political operations here).

Among the seized companies, six, including IQ Money, are electronic money providers. The licences of five, including IQ, have been revoked.

Filed for bankruptcy protection

Last month, directors of local fuel retailer Turkiye Petrolleri (TP Petrol) Dagitim were arrested over a complaint filed by STAR Refinery.

Earlier this month, TP Petrol, a unit of Zulfikarlar Holding, filed for a bankruptcy protection known as concordato in Turkey.

On November 18, chemicals producer Akca Kimya, another Zulfikarlar unit, filed for concordato. Akca has had problems with repayments in relation to its domestic lira bonds.