Arkham in Türkiye: captured regulators, a Champions League club and sex workers
Covertly recorded video evidence appears to show Arkham Intelligence's head of Turkey describing bribery of government officials, manipulation of financial regulations, and the use of sex workers to secure business benefits from Galatsaray, a Champions League soccer club — all allegedly with the knowledge of the company's American CEO.
Crypto Leaks collects and publishes covertly recorded video footage in the public interest, in accordance with the laws of the jurisdictions in which the recordings are made. The recordings presented in this investigation were obtained by investigative journalists operating in a jurisdiction where such recordings are legal. Names used in this article refer to individuals appearing in and identified through video recordings, public records, and corporate filings.
None of the individuals or entities named in this investigation were contacted for comment prior to publication. The allegations described herein are based on statements made in recorded conversations and should be understood as claims that appear to describe potentially illegal activity. We use terms such as "allegedly," "appears to," and "according to the recordings" throughout this article to reflect that these are claims made by the recorded individuals. We express our analysis and opinion based on the available evidence and invite all named parties to make public statements in response.
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Synopsis
Bribing regulators. Sending sex workers to a football coach. Obtaining sealed government documents. Shaping an entire country's financial laws from the inside. In thirty-one covertly recorded videos, Arkham Intelligence's head of Turkey describes all of this on camera. He says his American CEO knew everything.
The recordings, some of which are being published here for the first time, lay bare what appears to be a foreign company's systematic campaign to corrupt Turkish institutions, from the Capital Markets Board to Galatasaray SK, using bribery, personal connections, and an off-the-books "black ops" budget. The evidence implicates a U.S. citizen in conduct that could carry twenty years in federal prison. Read the transcripts. Watch the videos. Judge for yourself.
What follows below is the full evidentiary record.
Key Findings
Arkham's American CEO was allegedly kept informed of bribery, regulatory manipulation, and the use of sex workers to secure deals in Turkey. According to the recordings, the most sensitive details were shared only in face-to-face meetings, deliberately avoiding any digital trail.
Coinbase spent two years trying to enter the Turkish market and failed. Arkham allegedly did it in months. Its operative claims to have dictated changes to Turkey's cryptocurrency regulations directly to a contact inside SPK, the country's financial regulator.
Arkham had a contact inside the regulator. Buken describes a former student of his now working at SPK (Turkey's equivalent of the SEC). He claims on camera that he told this official the draft regulations were inadequate, and that roughly 40% of the rules were subsequently changed based on his input.
Confidential, government-stamped documents were allegedly obtained from SPK and passed directly to Arkham's CEO. The files contained sealed intelligence on competitor companies. According to Buken, Morel was personally present at the meeting where the handover occurred.
To secure player access for a promotional video, Buken says he arranged sex workers for the coach of Galatasaray, Okan Buruk. The expense was paid from what he calls a "black ops" budget, an off-the-books fund allegedly used for bribes, gifts to officials, and other untraceable payments.
Arkham's approximately €3.7 million Galatasaray sponsorship was not about football. In Buken's own telling, the deal was designed to convert Turkey's massive gambling population into cryptocurrency traders on Arkham's platform.
Buken describes a tiered communication system designed to hide evidence of criminal activity. Slack for official business, encrypted messaging for sensitive topics, and in-person meetings for anything that could constitute a crime. All reported up the chain to the CEO.
If substantiated, these activities could violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which carries penalties of up to $250,000 per violation and twenty years in prison. Arkham is a U.S. company. Its CEO is a U.S. citizen. Its board has included Peter Thiel and Tim Draper. Its investors include Sam Altman.
Who Is Arkham Intelligence?
Before Arkham Intelligence had a product, a revenue stream, or any public presence beyond its unknown twenty-one-year-old founder, Miguel Morel, it produced what appears to have been a made-to-order disinformation report. That was its introduction to the world.
Published in June 2021, the report accused the DFINITY Foundation and insiders of a "pump-and-dump" scheme on the Internet Computer (ICP) token. Co-published by The New York Times, it allegedly caused billions of dollars in market damage. As Crypto Leaks
documented in Case No. 2, the investigation found evidence suggesting the report was produced to order, funded by investors with competing financial interests in the web3 ecosystem, and incredibly, was authored by a team with ties to Leverage Research, an organization widely described as cult-like by former members, and individuals with antisemitic views. One such associate was a writer for Palladium Magazine, a publication reportedly funded by figures in the same Silicon Valley circles that backed Arkham.
As
Case No. 12 later revealed, Arkham's leadership maintained close personal relationships with Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-convicted FTX fraudster serving a 25-year prison sentence for one of the largest financial frauds in American history. Morel and his CTO, Henry Fisher, knew Bankman-Fried and his co-founder Gary Wang through the San Francisco hacker house scene. Evidence showed that Arkham's CEO and CTO were with Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas the day before FTX collapsed, and that Arkham had made a mysterious $275,000 payment to M Group (FTX's PR firm) around the time the disinformation report was published. Bankman-Fried was, of course, one of the most prominent figures in the Effective Altruism movement, the same ideological current that connects Leverage Research, where Morel got his start, to several of Arkham's financial backers.
Today, Arkham Intelligence, Inc. is headquartered in the Dominican Republic, with offices in London and New York. It began as a blockchain analytics platform, marketing itself as a tool to "deanonymize" the owners of cryptocurrency wallets, and bearing a name that may itself be a nod to Palantir's Gotham platform, given the overlap in backers. More recently, it has expanded into operating cryptocurrency exchanges in specific national markets, including Turkey.
Arkham attracted early backing from prominent Silicon Valley figures, including Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI; Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir Technologies; and venture capitalist Tim Draper. Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of Palantir and PayPal, and a documented funder of Leverage Research (the organization from which Morel emerged), served as a director but resigned from the board after Crypto Leaks published its Case No. 2 investigation. Draper reportedly remains.
In April 2023, after Case No. 2 was already public, Arkham raised $12 million in a Series A round from institutional investors including Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Bedrock Capital. It is, to say the least, an extraordinary investor roster for a company whose public debut was a disinformation campaign, and whose founder's only prior credential was an "entrepreneur-in-residence" role at the offshoot of an organization with cult-like practices.
Whether these investors were unaware of the company's origins, indifferent to them, or aligned with its methods is a question only they can answer. What is clear is that the capital, connections, and institutional veneer they provided enabled Arkham to expand: first to London, then globally, and now into Turkey, where, as this investigation reveals, the pattern of alleged corruption has only deepened.
The Man Inside: Efe Buken
At the center of Arkham's Turkish operation is Efe Buken, who identifies himself as Arkham Intelligence's "Head of Turkey." In a series of covertly recorded conversations with investigative journalists, Buken describes in remarkable detail how he allegedly orchestrated Arkham's entry into the Turkish market through a combination of personal connections, regulatory manipulation, and, in his own words, "black ops."
Buken's role at Arkham is not in dispute, though the company appears to be working hard to make it so. On October 18, 2024, Buken publicly announced his appointment as "Head of Turkey" in a LinkedIn post, writing in both English and Turkish: "I am thrilled to announce that I've joined the Arkham team as Head of Turkey." His LinkedIn profile subsequently listed the role from August 2024 to July 2025, followed by a revised title ("Chief Advisor, TR Ops") from July to October 2025. Crucially, all thirty-one videos presented in this investigation were recorded while Buken held the title of Head of Turkey, meaning every statement he makes on camera was made as a senior Arkham operative, not a peripheral consultant.
Then Crypto Leaks published its video summary on December 14, 2025, and the scrubbing began. Buken's LinkedIn profile was progressively altered: first the "Head of Turkey" title was changed to "advisor," then both Arkham roles were removed entirely. As of the date of this publication, his profile lists no connection to Arkham Intelligence whatsoever. Google's search index still returns cached references to both roles, but the underlying sources, including web pages that previously confirmed his position, have been cleaned of any mention of Arkham.
This pattern of evidence destruction is itself significant. Crypto Leaks has observed the same tactic in previous investigations: when recorded individuals are confronted with their own words, they and the organizations they serve attempt to retroactively erase the relationship, as though deletion could undo what was said on camera.
Buken presents himself as a well-connected operator within Turkey's crypto and financial ecosystem, claiming that his "reputation" is what opened the door for Arkham.
Buken identifies himself as Head of Turkey at Arkham Intelligence
“
Right now, I am head of Turkey at Arkham... what we are trying to do in the Turkish market right now is to acquire an existing exchange, centralized exchange to become a Turkish exchange too.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
Buken describes the acquisition plan and his proposed CEO role
“
We are moving forward with an acquisition of a Turkey centralized exchange in here to kind of, you know, align with the regulations... they offered me a CEO position of the Turkish entity.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
Buken further claims that Arkham outmaneuvered Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, for a key deal, thanks to his personal connections.
Buken describes displacing Binance from a deal
“
You know, Binance wanted to have that deal, and now they're out of the deal because, you know, now we are in touch with the guys... I have made that contract and I have took these privileges from them, even if they were not there in the very first place.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
Direct Line to the CEO
A critical question in any investigation of corporate corruption is how far up the chain of command knowledge extends. In the recorded conversations, Buken is unambiguous: he reports directly to Arkham's CEO, Miguel Morel, and Morel is allegedly aware of, and approves, his activities in Turkey.
Buken confirms close relationship with Miguel Morel
“
I mean, like I was with him yesterday. So, he was in, you know, he was in Dubai, then in Istanbul. He travelled with me. We were together like, for the last ten days.
— Efe Buken, on his relationship with Miguel Morel
Buken states he reports to Miguel
“
Yes, of course. I'm gonna report to Miguel. That's what I did in the last ten days.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
Buken describes the authority and budget Miguel gave him
“
Of course. I mean, you cannot do anything without reporting. Technically, it's not my money. Of course I'm going to report that.
— Efe Buken, on reporting expenditures to Miguel Morel
The recordings appear to establish a clear chain of authority: Buken acts, and Morel knows. The budget is Arkham's, not Buken's. And, as subsequent sections reveal, this reporting relationship allegedly extends to the most sensitive, and potentially illegal, aspects of the Turkish operation.
Capturing the Regulator
Turkey's Capital Markets Board, known by its Turkish acronym SPK, is the country's primary financial regulator. It oversees capital markets, securities, and, under legislation enacted in July 2024, cryptocurrency exchanges. SPK sets the rules for licensing, compliance, and investor protection in the crypto space. It holds extensive confidential information about the companies it regulates.
In a functioning regulatory system, SPK is supposed to serve as a guardian for Turkish citizens and investors. In the recordings obtained by Crypto Leaks, however, Buken describes what appears to be a systematic effort to compromise this institution from the inside, on behalf of Arkham Intelligence.
Shaping Regulations to Order
Buken does not merely claim influence over Turkish regulators. He claims to have rewritten the regulations themselves, specifically to enable Arkham, a foreign entity, to enter the Turkish market.
Buken confirms he can influence regulations
“
I have the draft of this, you know, of a regulation that doesn't even public right so, they are asking our opinions, with secret, you know, mails and messages. It's like, you know, it's governmental secret, really, like, it's just stamped like that.
— Efe Buken, on access to confidential draft regulations
Buken confirms he shapes regulation
“
So, you really shape the regulation? — Exactly.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Buken admits changing regulations for Arkham
“
Changed the regulations for the foreign entities. — In order for Arkham to? — Yeah. To dip into the waters. Kind of... After I changed the regulations, everything became much easier for them.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Confirmation: regulations changed from impossible to possible
“
Before it wasn't possible, and then you changed the regulations, and now it's possible? — Yeah. For the centralized exchange. Yes.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Consider what this means. A foreign cryptocurrency company, one already linked to disinformation campaigns and to a convicted financial fraudster, allegedly had Turkey's financial regulations reshaped to suit its commercial interests. Coinbase, one of the world's largest and most regulated exchanges, reportedly spent two years trying to establish a Turkish entity and failed. Arkham, according to Buken, accomplished it in five months.
Buken explains how his influence outpaced Coinbase
“
That's why we are working with Arkham. They know who I am, and that's why they wanted to work. And they are a big entity... With my help, everything is just going much more smoother than the other ones. I mean, like, Coinbase is trying to have an entity in Turkey for the last two years or so. But I am working with Arkham for the last four months, I think, and we are going to get the entity next month.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
The Man Inside SPK
How was this allegedly accomplished? Buken describes a specific, personal channel into SPK: a former student of his who now works at the regulatory agency.
Buken reveals his contact inside SPK
“
I have a, you know, kind of student of mine is working in SPK, and doing the regulations. So, I'm just calling him, telling him, you know, 'that regulation is a bullshit', or 'we need that regulation'.
— Efe Buken, on his contact inside Turkey's financial regulator
Buken claims 40% of regulations changed due to his feedback
“
I have told the guy the draft of the regulations are just bullshit. So, you know, you should consider changing these parts and like, I don't know, like 40% of that, not 50, but 40% of that is changed actually because of the feedback.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
If this claim is true, it would mean that a significant portion of Turkey's emerging cryptocurrency regulations were shaped not by the independent judgment of the country's regulators, but by the commercial interests of a single foreign company with a deeply troubled track record. Turkey has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption in the world. For its millions of crypto users, this represents a potential betrayal of the regulatory framework designed to protect them.
Buying Confidential Intelligence
Buken's alleged relationship with SPK went beyond influencing regulations. He also claims to have obtained confidential, non-public information about Arkham's potential acquisition targets, proprietary data held by SPK about Turkish companies.
Buken describes obtaining confidential SPK information
“
We are constantly looking for a place to, you know, a decent company to acquire in Turkey. And the only place that we could know is SPK itself because all the registries are you know in SPK. So that's why I reached out to guy, so I can really have an extra layer of due diligence to the company that we are trying to acquire.
— Efe Buken, on obtaining confidential regulator data
Buken confirms the information is concealed and that Miguel was present
“
And it's concealed information or — Of course. The information is actually not to disclose with anyone else since it's a company... And you met with this guy and Miguel together to get that — Yep.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
This is a significant detail. According to Buken, Arkham's CEO Miguel Morel was personally present at the meeting where confidential regulatory information was allegedly obtained from an SPK official. If accurate, this would place Morel, an American citizen, at the center of what could constitute a violation of both Turkish law and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
"Incentivizing" Regulators
When pressed on how, specifically, one secures this kind of access and influence with government officials, Buken is remarkably candid.
Buken on "incentivizing" regulators
“
So you basically you're saying, we need to incentivize the regulators. — When the time is right. When the time comes, let's say, you can always incentivize these people, whoever they are working at that point.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Buken nods to confirm exchange-related incentivization
“
So, for the exchanges, you had to help like a little bit incentivize to make it happen. — (Nods) That's all.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Buken describes working with government and proposing changes
“
I have a drafted regulation document with governmental secrets stamp on it right now... But we kind of used to each other, let's say. After some point, we used each other and we are just, you know, proposing some changes.
— Efe Buken, on his relationship with Turkish regulators
The word Buken uses, "incentivize," is a euphemism that will be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with corruption investigations. Under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, "anything of value" offered to a foreign government official to secure a business advantage constitutes a potential criminal offense. Under Turkish law, bribery of public servants is punishable by imprisonment. Buken's own description of his methods, from calling his former student at SPK to tell him regulations are "bullshit," to "incentivizing" unnamed officials, paints a picture of a regulatory system allegedly compromised from the inside.
Buken describes Miguel meeting SPK member in person
“
For example, the last time he [Miguel] came, he met with Webrazzi which is the... probably the strongest fintech organization in Turkey... And the other one is we met with an official SPK member.
— Efe Buken, on Miguel Morel's Turkey visits
Buken describes how regulations he proposed benefit Arkham
“
In the upcoming exchange regulations, there will be only one spot for a foreign board member. Just one spot, which is the owner actually. Owner will have just one spot in the board.
— Efe Buken, describing regulations he claims to have shaped
Corrupting Turkish Football
In July 2024, Arkham Intelligence announced a two-season sponsorship deal with Galatasaray SK, one of Turkey's most famous and beloved football clubs, champions of the Turkish Süper Lig, and a symbol of national pride. The deal, reportedly worth approximately €3.7 million plus VAT, placed Arkham's logo on the left sleeve of the players' jerseys. At the signing ceremony at RAMS Park, Galatasaray's president Dursun Aydın Özbek and Arkham's CEO Miguel Morel posed for photographs: the image of a legitimate corporate partnership.
Behind this image, however, the recordings tell a different story.
Targeting the Gambling Crowd
Buken explains with disarming frankness why Arkham pursued the Galatasaray sponsorship. It was not, he says, about brand prestige or supporting Turkish sport. It was about converting Turkish gamblers into crypto traders.
Buken explains Arkham's real motivation for the football deal
“
They have a huge user acquisition over there. Because most of the Turkish people that uses crypto is actually coming from betting websites... if you involve football to, you know, blockchain, then you are automatically gaining that gambler crowd to your ecosystem.
— Efe Buken, on the strategy behind the Galatasaray deal
This is a revealing admission. Turkish football is already struggling to recover from a major gambling scandal. Arkham's sponsorship, according to its own representative, was designed not to support the sport but to exploit it, to use Galatasaray's massive fan base as a pipeline for converting online gamblers into users of a cryptocurrency exchange operated by a company with a history of controversy.
The Galatasaray Deal: Secured Through Connections
Buken claims credit for the sponsorship Binance couldn't get
“
Arkham is a huge brand. That's why Galatasaray has its you know, logo in the arm. So that's sponsorship like Binance couldn't nail that sponsorship, I did... my reputation, you know, opened that door to Arkham to be the sponsor of Galatasaray.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
Buken confirms Miguel knows about his coach connections
“
Does Miguel know that you're close to the coach of Galatasaray that you guys are? — Of course. That's how we connected with Galatasaray, with my own contacts.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Sex Workers for the Coach
What happened next, according to Buken, moves from the ethically questionable to the potentially criminal.
Buken needed access to Galatasaray's players for a promotional video shoot for Arkham. To secure the cooperation of the club, he says he turned to the coach. The method he describes is striking in its crudeness.
Buken describes sending sex workers to Galatasaray's coach
“
For example, Galatasaray's coach. I sent him two hookers, and then we are golden... Coach of Galatasaray. So, I was trying to get his permit to — For Arkham? — for a video shoot tomorrow. It is going to happen tomorrow. Yeah. And to get that we had to party, and I sent him to it... So I just kept the guy happy.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
According to Buken, this was not a personal favor unrelated to his work for Arkham. It was a deliberate business tactic, funded by company money, to secure a commercial outcome for his employer.
Buken describes the promotional video shoot arrangement
“
Today I was in a call with Galatasaray's president, and I told him that I am going to send him two guys to be there to represent me, to do the video shoots tomorrow in the training... we are going to take six players from the training and have a special video shoot for Arkham.
— Efe Buken, recorded conversation
"Black Ops": The Money Trail
Perhaps the most legally significant aspect of the recordings is Buken's description of how these activities were funded and reported. He uses the term "black ops," repeatedly, to describe off-the-books expenditures that he claims were ultimately reported to and accepted by Arkham's CEO, Miguel Morel.
Buken describes communication channels with Miguel, including 'black ops' reporting
“
And obviously the rest, the, you know, the most sensitive things like this. So it is going to be face to face. And I just tell him that 'dude, something happened. I'm going to explain you when you come here.' But I used that amount for a black ops, that's all, you know. And that amount was 1.2K. So, I used 1.2K. Black ops considered a black ops.
— Efe Buken, describing face-to-face reporting of sensitive expenditures to Miguel Morel
The specificity of Buken's account is notable. He describes a tiered communication system with Morel: Slack for official business, WhatsApp or Signal for "more sensitive subjects," and face-to-face meetings for the most sensitive matters, specifically those involving "black ops" expenditures. This is consistent with the operational security practices of someone who understands that what he is describing could constitute criminal activity.
Interviewer confirms Buken told Miguel about the coach favors
“
You told me Miguel that he knows about it... So that does Miguel knows the story about it? — Miguel knows the story. But Miguel, knows the story, not from WhatsApp, not from, I don't know, text. Not even from Signal. Miguel knows the story when he is here, a face to face. Because this is not something that I can text to be honest.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
Buken confirms Miguel knows about black ops 'even in the worst-case scenario'
“
So, he knows. He knows about black ops. — Even in the worst-case scenario. Yes. He knows. And even if he doesn't consent to this, after I explain the situation to him, he cannot just not reimburse me... he wants to just solve the problem from the root. So we just solve the problem. That's all.
— Exchange between interviewer and Efe Buken
The Bribery Playbook
Buken's descriptions of how he "incentivizes" people to get what he wants are not limited to regulators. In a striking extended anecdote, he describes a past personal experience that reveals his general approach to overcoming institutional resistance, and the methods he appears to regard as standard operating procedure.
Discussion of bribery as a business practice in Turkey
“
In most of the cases, you know, you need first of all, you need a close relationship, you or someone else that you know.
— Efe Buken, on how to "convince people in these kind of situations"
Buken recounts using sex workers to secure a personal mortgage from a government bank
“
I told my friend that, you know, get the guy out and just have some drinks, and, you know, after some point, I will come with some pretty ladies, and there will be some Russian girls over there... I just go there in a club with three young, beautiful Russian ladies and told them, you know, this is the guy... And get me that loan after that... dude called me after a week and thanked me about that night and called me and my wife to, you know, give the mortgage.
— Efe Buken, describing his method for overcoming a mortgage rejection
This anecdote, offered by Buken himself as an illustration of his resourcefulness, describes the corruption of a government bank official through the procurement of sex workers. It is the same method he claims to have used on behalf of Arkham to secure cooperation from Galatasaray's coach. The pattern is consistent: identify what the target wants, provide it, and collect the business favor in return.
The Legal Landscape
The conduct described in these recordings, if substantiated, would potentially violate laws in multiple jurisdictions.
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The FCPA makes it unlawful for any U.S. person or company to offer, pay, or authorize the payment of "anything of value" to a foreign government official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or securing an improper advantage. The Act applies to U.S. citizens regardless of where the conduct occurs, and it covers not only direct payments but also payments made through intermediaries, including through agents who act with the knowledge or authorization of the company.
Miguel Morel is a U.S. citizen. Arkham Intelligence is a U.S.-incorporated company. According to the recordings, Morel allegedly:
Was personally present at a meeting where confidential government information was obtained from an SPK official.
Knew about and accepted Buken's use of "black ops" funds for bribery-related activities.
Was aware of Buken's methods for "incentivizing" regulators and securing favorable regulatory changes.
Authorized a budget that was used for activities that allegedly included procuring sex workers for a football club coach to advance Arkham's commercial interests.
The FCPA defines bribes broadly as "anything of value," a definition that encompasses not only cash but also entertainment, gifts, travel, and personal services. The procurement of sex workers to secure business cooperation would fall squarely within this definition.
Turkish Anti-Corruption Law
Under the Turkish Penal Code, bribery of public officials (Article 252) is a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment. The unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information is separately criminalized. The alleged activities described by Buken, including the provision of inducements to a former student working at SPK, the unauthorized acquisition of confidential regulatory documents, and the use of personal favors to influence official decisions, would, if proven, potentially constitute serious criminal offenses under Turkish law.
Moreover, the corruption of Turkey's regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges has direct consequences for millions of Turkish citizens. Turkey has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption in the world. Regulations shaped to serve the interests of a single foreign company, rather than to protect investors and maintain market integrity, represent a fundamental failure of the institutions that Turkish citizens rely upon.
A Pattern of Conduct
The revelations about Arkham's activities in Turkey do not exist in isolation. They are part of a broader pattern of conduct that Crypto Leaks has documented across multiple investigations:
Case No. 2: Arkham published a disinformation report attacking the Internet Computer ecosystem, amplified by The New York Times, causing billions in alleged market damage. The report was produced by individuals with no credentials, ties to a cult, and antisemitic views, and was allegedly produced to order for a paying client.
Case No. 12: Arkham's leadership maintained close relationships with Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. The company made a mysterious $275,000 payment to FTX's PR firm around the time the disinformation report was published. Arkham's CEO and CTO were with Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas the day before FTX collapsed.
Upcoming investigation: Crypto Leaks has obtained evidence suggesting Arkham has deliberately provided cryptocurrency trading facilities in ways that may enable money laundering, specifically in locations such as Eastern Ukraine, potentially enabling Russians to circumvent EU sanctions, and in Iran, in potential contravention of both U.S. and EU sanctions. This forthcoming investigation will further illuminate the character of the company and its leadership.
Taken together, these cases paint a portrait of a company that operates with systematic disregard for law, ethics, and the interests of the people and markets it touches, from manipulating token prices and publishing disinformation to allegedly bribing government officials and corrupting sporting institutions. The common thread is a willingness to do whatever is necessary to advance commercial interests, regardless of the consequences for others.
What Must Happen Now
The evidence presented in this investigation, in the words and actions of Arkham Intelligence's own representative, demands a response from multiple authorities:
The Turkish Capital Markets Board (SPK) must investigate whether its regulatory processes have been compromised by improper influence, whether confidential information has been leaked to Arkham Intelligence, and whether any SPK employees have engaged in unauthorized conduct.
Turkish law enforcement authorities should examine whether the activities described in these recordings constitute criminal offenses under the Turkish Penal Code, including bribery of public officials and unauthorized disclosure of state secrets.
Galatasaray SK must assess whether its sponsorship arrangement with Arkham Intelligence was secured through proper channels, and whether the conduct described by Buken, including the alleged provision of sex workers to the club's coaching staff, is consistent with the values the club claims to represent.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which enforces the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, should examine whether Miguel Morel and Arkham Intelligence engaged in the bribery of foreign government officials in Turkey, conduct that, if proven, carries substantial criminal penalties.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has civil enforcement authority under the FCPA, should investigate Arkham's accounting practices and whether "black ops" expenditures were properly recorded.
Arkham's investors, including Sam Altman and other prominent figures in technology and finance, must consider whether continuing to fund a company with this track record is consistent with their own reputations and obligations.
Arkham Intelligence arrived in Turkey as a foreign company and, according to the evidence presented here, allegedly set about buying access, corrupting institutions, and reshaping the regulatory landscape to serve its own interests. Turkish citizens, Turkish football fans, and Turkish regulators deserve better.
The videos speak for themselves. We publish them, together with this analysis, so that the public and the authorities can judge.
Video Evidence Index
The following videos, covertly recorded by investigative journalists in a jurisdiction where such recordings are legal, form the evidentiary basis of this investigation. Each video features Efe Buken, Arkham Intelligence's self-described Head of Turkey, in recorded conversations.
Case No. 12 — The $275,000 Question — Arkham, Sam Bankman-Fried, and The New York Times
Case No. 9 — Arkham Intelligence engineer alleges exploit linked Binance user emails to private blockchain addresses
Case No. 2 — How The New York Times promoted a corrupt attack on ICP by Arkham Intelligence
Got more information? Crypto Leaks offers legal protections and financial rewards for credible information about corruption in the cryptocurrency industry. Visit cryptoleaks.info to learn more.