- Malta was a “base” of operations for the alleged illegal betting network of Turkish Cypriot Halil Falyalı, according to his former Head of Finance.
- Cemil Önal says the network allegedly earned €75 million monthly. Authorities have indicted several people, seized around €40 million, and discovered around €1.3 billion in crypto wallets – some in Malta. Halil Falyalı’s widow has purchased properties worth €59.5 million.
- Corporate documents, online records and first-hand accounts place Kebab Factory’s Ulaş Utku Bozdoğan and Food For Fit’s Burak Başel in the alleged network of illegal betting websites.
- Documents also show wider links to suspected Albanian organised crime.
Kebab Factory outlets dot Malta, and the health-conscious Food For Fit café in Sliema draws a loyal crowd, yet behind the entrepreneurial veneer of the two men behind the popular ventures lies a darker enterprise: links to a web of online gambling platforms connected to an alleged illegal billion-euro network.
An investigation by OCCRP, Amphora Media, Times of Malta and reporters from a dozen countries has uncovered corporate documents, online records, and a first-hand account that allegedly places Ulaş Utku Bozdoğan, founder and owner of the Kebab Factory chain and Burak Başel, co-proprietor of the Food for Fit café, within the network of Halil Falyalı — a politically connected Turkish Cypriot gambling mogul murdered in February 2022.
Bozdoğan and Başel played roles in the licensing of allegedly illegal gambling websites within the network. Together, they allegedly helped sustain and expand the network, using Malta’s regulatory environment to their advantage.
A government source confirmed that the authorities are investigating Falyalı’s links to Malta. Malta’s Police Force said it was “not in a position to confirm or otherwise such information”.
Read the story of our publishing partners, the Times of Malta
Responding through his lawyer, Başel said he “had no partnership or association with Mr. Halil Falyalı in any alleged betting network.”
“The only professional interaction between our Client was when his [Falyalı’s] local company in Cyprus, Cypbet, purchased offline shop software from my [Başel’s] Cyprus-based firm.”
Bozdogan responded to questions following the article’s publication and denied all the claims, insisting that he had never met or had dealings with Halil Falyali and Cemil Onal. Food for Fit said that Basel had no management or operational role in the business.
According to Turkish prosecutors, Falyalı allegedly built a cross-border illegal online betting operation that included Malta.
Falyalı, who was once indicted in absentia in the US for allegedly laundering drug money, was murdered when his car was ambushed by gunmen with automatic weapons.
He was known as a businessman and hotel proprietor of Les Ambassadeurs Hotel & Casino & Marina, an upscale resort in the port city of Kyrenia on the north Cypriot side of the divided island.
But behind the glitz, he and his associates allegedly ran an expansive illegal betting operation that generated at least €75 million per month, according to his former head of finance, Cemil Önal, who spoke to OCCRP from a Dutch prison, where he is fighting extradition to Turkey.
Cemil Önal during an interview with OCCRP.
Turkish prosecutors indicted Önal for allegedly establishing a criminal group for laundering money obtained from illegal betting.
In January 2023, at Turkey’s request, Interpol issued a red notice, describing Önal as “one of the masterminds” of Falyalı’s murder. Önal denies the allegation and says the bribes they paid to powerful individuals in Turkey and northern Cyprus make him a target.
Just ten months after Falyalı’s murder, authorities seized around €40 million in assets, with Turkey’s Interior Minister announcing a crackdown on the network. He even referenced Malta’s role in a press conference.
“Virtual betting, virtual gambling and crypto constitute the circulation of money in the world without any obstacles… From the Balkans to Malta and Cyprus, they are the places where [these groups] base themselves.”
In December last year, Turkish prosecutors issued a sweeping indictment against 250 people, including 35 alleged leaders of Falyalı’s network, including his widow Özge Taşker Falyalı. Reporters uncovered that Özge purchased a dozen luxury properties in Dubai worth around €58 million in the year after her husband’s death.
An Alleged Illegal Gambling Network’s Foothold in Malta
According to Önal, Malta was a base of the operations.
“Because, why Malta? Opening a company in Malta costs €2,000. The Falyalı family could give a power of attorney from the Greek-Cypriot side and open a company in Malta through a lawyer within a day.”
“Once you open a company, you have bank accounts and bitcoin. There is no problem in Malta when you exchange your Bitcoins and deposit them into your bank account. That is how you clean the money,” Önal says.
An indictment from Turkish authorities has revealed that Falyalı allegedly opened a cryptocurrency wallet in Malta. Malta adopted an act in 2018, which provided a grace period to cryptocurrency operators of 12 months to apply for an appropriate licence.
A confidential report from Turkey’s financial crimes investigators listed around 100 crypto wallets associated with Falyalı’s network, which reporters found have received more than €1.3 billion since 2018.
Önal says the wallets were just a fraction of the thousands of accounts the network used – a claim corroborated by the Turkish report.
Jeremy Douglas, chief of staff and strategy adviser for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that online gambling operations often spread their infrastructure widely, for instance, by registering companies in one country and placing servers in another, all while moving money through other jurisdictions in the form of cash or cryptocurrency.
Documents have also revealed the alleged network’s presence in Malta, where links to Falyalı’s operations appear in connection with Ulaş Utku Bozdoğan and Burak Başel.
They have built a flourishing portfolio of companies, including major eateries: the ever-growing Kebab Factory chain, which has opened seven outlets over the space of five years, and the more upmarket health-focused cafe in Sliema, Food for Fit, an outlet of the brand originating in Kyrenia, northern Cyprus.
Food For Fit distanced themselves from Başel, saying he “is not involved in the management of our business. He is only a shareholder/investor”. Başel owns the majority of Food For Fit Malta shares via his other company.
With a stake in payment systems, software, and services to gambling businesses and to gamblers themselves, Burak Başel is present throughout the food chain of gambling and betting.
Başel styles himself as a software innovator. He co-owns fintech companies licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Through one, he owns the Paymix brand, which is used by gambling companies internationally. He also has Maltese companies that provide services for gambling businesses.
In response to reporters’ questions, Finance Incorporated, the owner of the Paymix brand, wrote, “Finance Incorporated is managed by an independent Board of Directors and in implementing its conflicts of interest framework, Mr. Basel, although being the UBO, has no influence on the operation and management of the Institution.” The representative also said that “Finance Incorporated Limited does not provide services to companies that do not hold a licence to provide gambling services.”
Başel’s businesses worked with prominent corporate service providers in Malta. David-Joseph Meli, who is currently facing multiple charges, including alleged money laundering, in connection with the unrelated VGH scandal, worked with Başel’s companies and a Bozdoğan company through the Michael Kyprianou offices in Malta, a legal and corporate services firm.
At one point, Meli served as the director, legal representative, and secretary of several companies owned by Başel known under the name Pronet Gaming. Pronet companies currently use a Blackberry or Doxxon Finance label on the Malta Business Registry.
Başel, via his lawyer, said they had selected the Michael Kyprianou Law Firm due to its operations in both Malta and Cyprus, and that Meli was the firm’s representative in Malta – and changed representative when the charges against the latter became known.
David Meli said, “I have answered not guilty to all charges brought against me and I continue to proclaim my innocence in regard to the charges proffered.” He also added that “as far as they could tell” none of the companies belonging to Başel that worked with the Michael Kyprianou law firm had any connection to Falyalı.
Trustmoore Corporate Services (Malta) Limited and Trustmoore Malta Ltd, part of a group that also provides corporate services in Curacao, provided services and address to some of Başel’s companies.
In response to reporters’ questions, Trustmoore’s managing director Andrea Mizzi said that Trustmoore has not been involved in approaching payment providers on behalf of betting companies linked to the network.
Records show clear ties to illegal gambling network
Records show that Burak Başel is a shareholder of Universal Software Solutions NV, the license holder of the “BeteBet” and “KolayBet” labels, two of many betting website families in the alleged illegal gambling network that are blacklisted in Cyprus, Latvia, and Turkey. Ulaş Utku Bozdoğan was the representative for Universal Software Solutions in Albania.
Bozdogan denied the claims, insisting that the listing on official documents in the Albanian registry is incorrect. He insisted that he did not have any knowledge of the dealings of Universal Software Solutions NV.
Önal describes Betebet as Falyali’s first venture in the alleged illegal online gambling world. BeteBet was named in testimonies included in last year’s Turkish indictment.
An archived website of BeteBet describes Universal Software Solutions as the Curacao-licensed company behind the website. Operators in Turkey require a license from local authorities, and EU countries are also free to regulate gambling nationally.
Hüsnü Falyalı, Halil’s brother, told HalkTV that his brother had moved into illegal betting as early as 2004. Reporters identified one betting site, ArtemisBet, registered by a Falyalı employee, Ibrahim Tokkan, in 2007. The site was blocked by authorities in Turkey in 2017 and Poland in 2018.
Domain data show that Tokkan, who has been indicted as an alleged manager of the illegal betting network, registered sites in the kolaybet.com and betebet.com families through Total Gaming Solutions B.V. Betebet’s ownership details were hidden from 2012 until 2019.
On his ties with Betebet, Başel’s lawyer said licensing laws and restrictions vary by jurisdiction, and companies operating under a Curaçao license are responsible for ensuring compliance with local laws in the regions where they operate. He added that Universal Software Solutions sells software to businesses, and does not deal directly with the end users of the betting sites.
Pronet Gaming is a software provider for the betting sites.
“Pronet is the same. Pronet also provides services to everyone in exchange for money. Infrastructure. Look, these are all infrastructures. You build the infrastructure. Customers want sites. You sell infrastructure to customers,”, Önal says.
Archived web pages from 2014 show Pronet Gaming Ltd. touting itself as “a trademark of Universal Software Solutions in Curaçao, with an operation base in Malta.”
In Malta, Başel has closed or renamed companies that used to carry the Pronet brand. Pronet Payment Systems Limited became Doxxon Finance Limited, which is the company that co-owns the fintech side of Başel’s business. However, Başel said he had no relation to the Pronet Gaming registered in the UK, which he says is responsible for the services for the websites.
Basel’s lawyer says that Pronet Curacao, a brand owned by Universal Software Solutions, ran B2B operations, and Pronet Malta applied for a gaming licence but never used it. He said that Pronet Gaming is a trade name, not a legal entity – making a distinction between the Malta brand and the one registered by Universal Software Solutions in Curaçao.
How does the system work?
The network’s alleged illegal betting sites mirror legal online gambling platforms: They offer live casino games, slots, and sports betting, often in customised languages with user-friendly interfaces. Gamblers can pay by credit card and crypto currency, or via various online payment platforms.In certain cases, gamblers may not know they are even using an illegal betting website.
There is a large grey area between duly licensed and fully illegal betting operators: websites that use a licence from an ‘easy’ jurisdiction to target gamblers in an area where that licence does not legally apply.
However, unlike licensed platforms, these websites regularly flout regulations. They might hold a license in Malta, Montenegro, or Curaçao — yet target gamblers in places such as Turkey, where online gambling is heavily restricted.
Once authorities blacklist a site, the network simply renames and relaunches it. BeteBet was blacklisted in Turkey in 2017, Cyprus in 2019 and Latvia 2021.
“Let’s say someone made a complaint [and the BeteBet website] was shut down,” Önal explained. “In one moment, in 16 seconds, BeteBet2 will be live. These are very cheap.”
In business with Albanian Suspected Organised Crime
Başel’s and Bozdoğan’s businesses also extend to Albania.
In Albania, Başel is a shareholder of Universe, which he owns via Universal Software Solutions in Curacao. Bozdoğan was listed as the representative of Universal Software Solutions in the company’s founding documents.
Başel’s lawyer said Bozdoğan was appointed by Universal Software Solutions as its legal representative in Albania, with a limited power of attorney issued for specific responsibilities within Albania.
“Our client does not have any personal relationship with Ulaş Utku Bozdoğan,” the lawyer said.
The other owner of Universe is a company called MAREN. MAREN was once owned by Ramazan Hasanbelli, an Albanian citizen convicted in Italy for drug trafficking and organised crime.
The current co-owner is Ilir Hasanbelli, who signed the Universe’s founding documents with Bozdoğan . Reporters uncovered documents which indicate that Ilir and Ramazan are brothers.
One of Universe’s activities was “electronic distance gaming.” Universal Software Solution N.V. invested approximately €2.6 million into the company. It was founded in 2017 and has since ceased operations.
Bozdogan did confirm that he worked for Universe. However, he said he never had any relationship with Ramazan Hasanbelli and Ilir Hasanbelli. Documents show that Bozdogan signed the founding documents of Universe with Ilir.
“The fact that I am listed as a legal representative of Universal Software Solution is an error which is linked to my time working for Universe,” he said.
Basel’s lawyer did not outright deny the links saying that ” at the license application stage, MAREN purchased software from USS [Universal Software Solutions] by transferring 30% of Universe’s shares to USS as part of the transaction” and “Universe operated under its license for a limited period of eight months, four of which were direct software development duration. Hence, only had an active operation of four months, before the project was discontinued due to new regulations implemented by the Albanian authorities. The project didn’t yield any profits for USS and ultimately resulted in financial losses for USS as a result of development costs.”
In a request for comment about the allegations that licensed gambling companies were used by members of an illegal gambling network, the Malta Gaming Authority said it was “unable to confirm or deny whether any entity or individual has been or is under investigation”, but emphasised that it “conducts due diligence checks on Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) holding 10 per cent or more equity or voting rights in a licensed entity, as well as on the licensee’s directors and key function holders”. If the authority considers that the owners or directors are no longer ‘fit and proper’, it may suspend or cancel their gambling licences and alert other authorities, the authority said.
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