Ömer Lütfü Topal
Ömer Lütfü Topal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 Doğanşehir, Malatya Province, Turkey |
| Died | Error: Need valid birth date (second date): year, month, day |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Casino empire in Turkey, involvement in Susurluk scandal, convicted drug trafficker |
Ömer Lütfü Topal (1942 – July 28, 1996) was a prominent Turkish entrepreneur linked to the Susurluk scandal. He gained notoriety as a convicted drug trafficker and was widely known as the "casino king" due to his extensive gambling enterprises, which accumulated an estimated fortune near $1 billion by the time of his assassination.
Background
He was born in Doğanşehir, Malatya Province and was the son of Mahmut Topal.
Life
Topal's criminal history in İstanbul dates back to 1962, with subsequent offenses recorded in 1969 and 1971, including charges such as threats, coercion for debt repayment, stabbing, bodily harm, assault, and homicide.
Drug smuggling
On June 20, 1978, Belgian authorities detained him in Antwerp carrying six kilograms of heroin along with a counterfeit passport under the alias Sadık Sami Onar. He remained incarcerated in Belgium from June 14, 1978, until July 23, 1981. Afterwards, he was extradited to the United States where he served a five-year sentence for heroin trafficking in New York. His name surfaced in testimonies connected to significant heroin seizures in the Netherlands during January and February of 1981. Later, on May 5, 1989, Istanbul's Narcotics Branch arrested him; however, prosecutors subsequently released him.
Casino empire
At the time of his death, Topal controlled casinos across Turkey and operated an illegal network comprising approximately 450 individuals while catering to around 200 high-profile clients. Although official records indicated a loss of 6 billion Turkish Lira ($546,493) in 1993, investigative findings uncovered earnings totaling 473 billion lira ($39 million). A Ministry of Finance report from 1999 revealed several key points:
- Within five years from owning a single cafeteria in 1991, he amassed substantial wealth.
- He withdrew a total of 4.1 trillion Lira through gamblers’ credit cards.
- His holdings included 137 bank accounts with deposits amounting to roughly 14.5 trillion TL (about $98 million) and an additional 23 million Deutsche Marks.
- Numerous properties among his portfolio of 452 were acquired through debts incurred from gambling.
- Poker games alone generated nearly $750 million between 1994 and 1996.
The Inspection Board cautioned that if left unchecked, Topal might have evolved into a drug lord posing a significant threat to government stability. In 1995, he sought to expand influence by attempting control over hotels and casinos in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Allegations also surfaced that drug transactions took place at his Emperyal Casino in Istanbul with purported bribery of security personnel involving foreign currency payments.
Death
On July 28, 1996, Topal was killed by gunfire from a Kalashnikov rifle. Some link this assassination to the emergence of the Susurluk scandal. It was reported that Abdullah Çatlı’s fingerprint was discovered on one of the firearms used. Police officers Ayhan Çarkın and two others were acquitted due to insufficient evidence; later in 2008, the presiding judge suggested that the investigation had been deliberately obstructed.
Upon his death, Topal’s estate was valued at approximately 100 trillion lira (close to one billion USD). His son Murat Topal, daughter Elif Topal, and first wife Safiye Belli inherited twenty-two companies. His second spouse, Birsu Hilal Altıntaş, received several vehicles along with various companies and real estate assets. After his passing, management of his casino operations was assumed by Ömer Gultekin.