Turkey Revokes Papel Electronic Money Licence Amid Ongoing Money-Laundering Case
Turkey’s central bank has revoked the operating licence of Papel Elektronik Para ve Ödeme Hizmetleri A.Ş., an electronic-money and payment-services company that is also the subject of an ongoing criminal case involving allegations that proceeds from illegal betting were laundered through its payment infrastructure.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) decision was dated 18 September 2026 and published in the Official Gazette on 23 September. It cancelled the electronic-money institution licence originally granted to Papel in October 2022 under Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions.
TCMB’s current register of electronic-money institutions now lists Papel among institutions whose licences have been revoked. The revocation decision cites Article 16(1)(ç) and (e), Article 19 and Article 21(8) of Law No. 6493. The published decision does not itself set out a detailed factual account of the conduct behind the cancellation.
Separate criminal proceedings concern alleged laundering of illegal-betting proceeds
The regulatory action follows criminal proceedings that began earlier in 2026. In June, Turkish prosecutors completed an indictment against 44 suspects in a case alleging that proceeds from illegal betting were laundered through Papel.
According to reporting on the indictment by Anadolu Agency, the investigation was based on TCMB inspection findings and reports from Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). The MASAK material cited in the indictment described numerous transactions associated with suspected illegal betting, misuse of point-of-sale facilities and suspicious transfers involving Papel and sub-merchants.
The indictment alleges that some businesses using virtual POS facilities as sub-merchants had little or no apparent commercial history or financial capacity, yet processed unusually large transactions at short intervals. Prosecutors allege that the structures were used to facilitate illegal-betting transactions and movement of criminal proceeds.
The allegations have not been finally determined by a criminal court. The licence cancellation is a regulatory decision by TCMB and should not be treated as a criminal conviction of the company or the defendants in the separate proceedings.
Payment-sector relevance
The case combines two distinct developments: a final regulatory step removing an electronic-money institution’s authority to operate, and continuing criminal proceedings examining alleged use of payment infrastructure to move and conceal proceeds from illegal betting.
The alleged transaction patterns described in the case — high-frequency payments inconsistent with merchant profiles, use of sub-merchants and virtual POS arrangements, and transfers involving counterparties associated with illegal betting — are directly relevant to transaction monitoring and merchant due-diligence controls in payment and electronic-money businesses.
Sources
Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye — Electronic Money Institutions
Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye — Payment Systems Legislation
