Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 13, 2026
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Turkey detained 16 people and seized $6.9 million in assets in a money laundering probe linked to OnlyFans. The investigation targeted 25 suspects across eight provinces.
ANKARA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Turkey detained 16 people and seized assets worth about 300 million lira ($6.9 million) on Friday in an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to content shared on the OnlyFans platform, prosecutors said.
The probe, led by a department investigating terrorism financing and money laundering crimes, targeted 25 suspects and two companies in operations across eight provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said.
Prosecutors said suspects generated income by sharing explicit content on social media and directing users to paid platforms, including OnlyFans and private messaging channels such as Telegram.
OnlyFans has been blocked in Turkey since June 7, 2023, by a ruling of an Istanbul court on the grounds that it hosted content deemed contrary to public morality and family values.
Despite the ban, suspects were found to have accessed the platform via virtual private networks (VPNs), prosecutors said.
According to the statement, the suspects laundered proceeds through the purchase of assets, as well as investments in bitcoin and gold.
Authorities identified 10 properties, 14 vehicles and two companies linked to the suspects. The total value of the assets was estimated at around 300 million lira.
The prosecutor's office said the investigation was ongoing.
(Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Daren Butler and Saad Sayeed)
Money laundering is the process of making illegally obtained money appear legitimate. It typically involves three steps: placement, layering, and integration.
Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. It operates on decentralized networks based on blockchain technology.
Asset seizure is the legal process where law enforcement takes possession of assets believed to be connected to criminal activity.
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