Following the charge by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that financial institutions and government agencies should strengthen measures against money laundering, The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) in Turkey has announced a new set of measures. The association also advised on how countries should handle financial crimes relating to COVID-19. In response to FATF’s call to develop a strategy for confiscating proceeds and resources associated with crimes and outline roles and responsibilities for prosecutors, MASAK developed a new condition for reporting non-commercial payments belonging to an individual.
Payments more than 100,000 Turkish liras and less than 1 million Turkish liras sent offshore must be uploaded on MASAK database everyday and those above 1 million should be shared with MASAK a day before the payment. However, this does not affect corporate transactions and inter-financial institution transactions. Turkey took this action as part of its commitment to fight money laundering and other related offence, with strict compliance to FATF’s directive and guide.
