Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Turkey step up arrests tied to offshore iGaming payment networks

Multiple jurisdictions have moved against people linked to offshore iGaming operations in recent days, with Thailand detaining a Chinese national alleged to have controlled a payment network that handled Alipay and WeChat wallets, and Turkey continuing a large-scale crackdown that has already swept up roughly 1,000 people this month. For PSPs and payment teams serving high-risk traffic, the pattern is familiar: the pressure is no longer just on operators, but on the payment layers and the intermediaries around them.

1. Thailand and China: Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) detained a 31-year-old Chinese citizen identified as mr. Yu at China’s request. Law enforcement says he had controlled the PAOFENG payment network since 2018, servicing offshore iGaming products targeting GEO: CN. The network reportedly covered 6K wallets in Alipay and WeChat, plus cryptocurrency assets. He is expected to be deported to China.
2. India: Authorities detained 11 gambling agents who were working on offshore iGaming products under the umbrella brand LOTUS365.
3. Bangladesh: A group of 9 gambling agents was detained for work tied to offshore iGaming products from 1xBet, Melbet, Ck44 and F11.
4. Turkey: The wave of mass arrests tied to offshore iGaming operators targeting GEO: TR is continuing. Two days ago, another +215 people linked to payment operations were arrested. The total number of people detained in Turkey since the start of the full-scale operation this month is already around +/- ~ 1K, if not more.
5. Operational takeaway: The source also repeats the warning not to travel to Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and not to use Turkish airports for transit. It further advises people linked to offshore iGaming business and living in Turkey to leave the country as soon as possible if they have not done so already.

For high-risk payment providers, the useful detail here is not the headline arrest count. It is the mechanism: authorities are moving after payment networks, wallet infrastructure, and local agents, not just the brand names that sit at the top of the stack.