Watchdog demands Ankara to step up measures against money laundering

Fatma Abdel-Ghany

A global money laundering watchdog said Turkish authorities must address shortcomings in tackling money laundering and terrorism financing or face being added to a “gray list” of countries with inadequate financial controls.

In a report issued on Monday, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) highlighted gaps in Turkey’s efforts to prevent financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Out of 11 areas evaluated, Turkey was deemed to require major or fundamental improvements in nine. The report’s findings mean Ankara will be put under observation for a year, and could be added to the gray list if it does not make improvements.

The watchdog said Turkey should make “fundamental improvements in measures for freezing assets linked to terrorism, terrorist organizations and financiers”.

Turkey had a low rate of conviction for terrorism financing, the report said, pointing to data it said was provided by authorities showing more than 6,000 people were prosecuted in 2017 but only 115 convicted, according to Reuters.

Ankara should also improve efforts to prevent “the raising, moving and using of funds for weapons of mass destruction”, the report said, adding that Turkey was slow in following up U.N. Security Council resolutions relating to Iran and North Korea.

Turkey says it abides by all international laws and United Nations resolutions.

The report also called on Turkey to strengthen its use of financial intelligence in money laundering cases and develop a national strategy for investigating and prosecuting different types of money laundering.

Turkish prosecutors have generally viewed charges related to money laundering and terrorism financing as low priorities, and have at times missed chances to “discover financiers and go deeper to understand the broader network” of terrorist groups, according to FATF, which also criticized Turkey’s efforts to enforce United Nations sanctions against Iran, North Korea and the Taliban.

FATF separately deemed Turkey in need “major” or “fundamental” improvements in nine of the group’s 11 effectiveness measures, the newspaper said.