Police detained 25 suspects in simultaneous raids across eight provinces today as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering through OnlyFans, the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has announced.
The suspects allegedly directed followers from other social media accounts to OnlyFans, where they shared explicit photos and videos for a fee.
The suspects invested their OnlyFans revenue in movable and immovable properties, as well as through cryptocurrencies, gold, and time deposit accounts. The prosecutor's office said there was "strong suspicion" of money laundering through these transactions.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized two companies, 10 real estate properties, and 14 vehicles belonging to the suspects. When including the market value of the companies, the total amount of the seized assets reaches approximately 300 million liras (6.8 million US dollars).
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Police carried out the raids in İstanbul, Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Balıkesir, Kocaeli, and Samsun.
OnlyFans has been banned in Turkey since 2023. In recent years, authorities have increased pressure on popular adult content creators, citing obscenity laws as the basis for legal action. This latest operation marks the first time that the authorities tackled alleged money laundering through adult content platforms.
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(TY/VK)
