Turkey placed under enhanced FATF monitoring
FATF's latest mutual evaluation notes improvements in Turkey's international cooperation, but critical deficiencies have led to special measures within the enhanced follow-up process.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its latest mutual evaluation of Turkey's anti-money-laundering framework, noting improvements in international cooperation and cross-border assistance for pursuing money-laundering offences. However, the report highlights several critical deficiencies that have led FATF to place Turkey under special measures within the enhanced follow-up process.
According to the evaluation, Turkey must significantly strengthen its efforts in several high-risk areas: prioritising investigations and prosecutions linked to major predicate offences, including fraud, corruption, organized crime and cross-border illicit finance; enhancing capabilities to identify, trace and recover criminal assets abroad, an area where current performance remains inconsistent; and ensuring basic and beneficial ownership information is accurate, verified and up to date — a long-standing weakness.
FATF has issued Turkey a three-year roadmap of recommended actions.
Businesses banking or transacting through Turkey should expect enhanced scrutiny from correspondent banks and counterparties while the follow-up process runs — particularly around beneficial-ownership documentation.