Authorities arrested DJ Kerimcan Durmaz during a performance in Malta. He is a social media influencer. The arrest was made for allegedly promoting illegal gambling through advertisements.
The arrest is part of a wide-ranging investigation. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is leading the probe. It focuses on illegal gambling promotions involving celebrities and influencers.
Authorities claim that the Turkish influencer violated laws regulating sports betting and games of chance.
These allegations were denies by Durmaz. He asserts that he had no prior knowledge of the advertisements shown during his performance. He also denies participating in any illegal activities.
Durmaz testified that LED screens displayed the advertisements during his DJ set. Nevertheless, insisted that he was unaware of their presence at the time.
He said that gambling advertisements ran on the LED screens behind him during his performance. He only discovered this afterward, through videos shared on social media.
Durmaz stated that he took precautions to avoid associating himself with gambling. He added that he made sure he did not include any advertisements in the visuals he shared on his social media accounts. He did not advertise gambling on his profiles.
Durmaz explained that he was hired to perform solely as a DJ at the Malta venue. He said that his manager handled the arrangements, and he had no knowledge of any gambling-related activities. If he had known, he would not have agreed to perform. Submitting an invoice to the court as evidence, he also confirmed earning $10,000 for the performance.
Prosecutors alleged that someone shared gambling advertisements on social media on January 2 and January 4. They also claimed that during the final 20 minutes of Durmaz’s performance, the ads appeared on LED screens. They initially displayed these ads alongside his logo.
