Turkish authorities have broken up a major illegal online betting ring they claim is linked to a UK gambling figure.

Over the weekend, Cyprus media outlet Havadis reported that an operation led by Istanbul Police had arrested 39 individuals in 20 cities connected to the betting ring. Police said the operation, which had been under surveillance for five months, generated revenue of $100m per month.

Police claim the ring had links to Turkey, Turkish Cyprus and the UK. Police seized around £6m in cash as well as other assets, including luxury cars and apartment blocks. Havadis placed the total value of the assets seized in Cyprus at £150m, while the Turkish-based assets totaled $780m.

Police claimed the betting operation’s ringleaders included a Scott William Masterson (pictured, courtesy of Haberturk.com), who was described as a top exec at a legal UK betting company. A Scott Masterson is identified as a director of the Essex-based Masterson Leisure Ltd., which supplies gaming, lottery and amusement machines for pubs, clubs and arcades.