Efforts to remove Turkey from the 'grey list' accelerated

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has reportedly accelerated its efforts to have Turkey removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “gray list.” According to information received by AA, 5 of the 7 deficiencies identified by the FATF have been remedied, while the executives of the relevant ministries and institutions held their first meeting on Monday, July 10, under the coordination of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, regarding the remaining 2 deficiencies. With the meeting, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance initiated a rapid and effective coordination process. Accordingly, training and awareness-raising activities regarding the crime of money laundering and the financing of terrorism will be accelerated. While specialized public prosecutors’ offices and competent courts have been established in all provinces regarding the crime of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, guides have been prepared regarding the investigation process on the law enforcement side. Trainings to increase awareness will be accelerated. While special work offices have been established, technical teams have also been established in order to strengthen Turkey’s positive impression in the eyes of the international public. "We have accelerated our work to eliminate the deficiencies identified by the FATF" Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that Turkey continues its determination and sincerity in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism within the framework of the international standards determined by the FATF, and that in this context, they have accelerated their work to eliminate the deficiencies identified by the FATF. Reminding that 5 of the 7 deficiencies identified by FATF have been remedied, Şimşek noted the following: "In order to carry out the work on the remaining 2 deficiencies quickly and effectively, the deputy ministers of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior and the managers of the relevant institutions of these Ministries (Ministry of Treasury and Finance Financial Crimes Investigation Board, Ministry of Justice Foreign Relations and EU Directorate General and General Directorate of Penal Affairs, Ministry of Interior Security General Directorate (KOM and TEM units), Gendarmerie General Command (KOM and TEM units) came together on Monday under the coordination of our Ministry. At the meeting, it was emphasized once again that the work to eliminate the deficiencies in question should be carried out quickly and with effective coordination. In this context, following the determination of specialized courts and prosecutors' offices tasked with combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, special investigation offices have also been established to combat money laundering. In the same context, in addition to the preparation of various guides for the relevant units, training and awareness-raising activities have been carried out. In addition, the technical working groups established by our Ministries continue their activities intensively." Şimşek emphasized that they will rapidly carry out the necessary steps to get off the FATF gray list as soon as possible and strengthen Turkey's positive impression in the eyes of the international community. Referring to the negative effects of being on the gray list, Şimşek said that being on the list has some negative effects such as "the decrease in capital flow by a certain percentage of gross income" and "the increase in the cost of syndicated loans."