As the sun sets, a ferryboat glides across the waters of the Golden Horn. In the background is the Suleymaniye Mosque and Istanbul, Turkey.
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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international watchdog tasked with combating money laundering and illicit financial flows, on Friday removed Turkey from its “grey list” of countries requiring special monitoring, giving the country strong confidence as it works to rebuild its economy. I voted.
“FATF welcomes Turkey’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime,” the Paris-based organization said in its latest report, using the Turkish government’s spelling of the country’s name and the acronym for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. I wrote it. .
Turkey said it had strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime to address “deficiencies” listed by the FATF in its October 2021 monitoring report.
These deficiencies include FATF concerns about unregistered money transfer services, lack of resources dedicated to investigating terrorist financing, alleged involvement in sanctions evasion, lack of oversight of high-risk sectors used in money laundering such as banking and real estate, and non-profit organizations. These included lack of supervision. It can be used to finance terrorism, etc.
In its 2021 report, the FATF found that sectors such as banking, construction and real estate in Turkey are vulnerable to illicit financing by UN-sanctioned groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.
The watchdog concluded in its 2024 findings that Turkey “is no longer subject to FATF’s enhanced monitoring process.” However, “we must continue to work with FATF to maintain improvements to our AML/CFT systems. Supervision of the non-profit (NPO) sector is risk-based and compliant with FATF standards.”
The Turkish government welcomed the news, with Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek writing on social media platform X, “We did it,” alongside a Turkish flag emoji.
“These developments have strengthened the confidence of international investors in our financial system. This decision will have very positive consequences for the financial sector and the economy,” said Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
The FATF announcement will provide a boost to Turkey’s economic recovery efforts after years of high inflation, depreciation of the local currency and inconsistent levels of foreign investment.
Mohamed Daoud, head of industry practice at Moody’s, explained the positive impact of the new designation.
“Turkey’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list is a recognition of the significant progress made by the Turkish government and various sectors of the economy in combating money laundering and terrorist financing,” Daoud said.
“These developments are expected to enhance Turkey’s international reputation, potentially strengthening its ties with foreign investment and European and American institutions.”
