Istanbul, SAEDNEWS: Turkey has handed over to Iran a popular Iranian social media figure, Milad Hatami, accused by Tehran of money-laundering and fraud in connection with online gambling, a senior Iranian police official said on Tuesday.
“He has been extradited ...and faces charges linked to cybercrime, fraud and money laundering,” Brigadier-General Hadi Shirzad, head of Iran’s branch of the international police organisation Interpol, told state television.
Turkish officials did not immediately comment on the reported extradition.
Iran has been cracking down on online gambling and betting sites, which are illegal under the country’s Islamic laws and have also been accused of money laundering. Iranian media said last week that the central bank had identified 450,000 bank cards used on the websites.
Hatami, a celebrity influencer with 1.2 million followers on Instagram, is based in neighbouring Turkey.
Regional powers Iran and Turkey have grown closer under Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan despite sometimes deep differences, including in Syria where they back opposing sides in the 10-year-old conflict (Reuters).
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