Türkiye set to be removed from ‘gray list’: Şimşek

ANKARA

Türkiye has successfully completed technical studies to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) gray list, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

The process will be finalized with an on-site assessment to be conducted in June, the minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“We are committed to do whatever it takes to take Türkiye out of the gray list,” Şimşek said.

Meanwhile, FATF said on Feb. 23 that at its February plenary, the watchdog made the initial determination that Türkiye has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment to verify the implementation of the AML/CFT reforms and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future.

It recalled that in October 2021, Türkiye made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF to strengthen the effectiveness of its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing Terrorism (CFT) regime.

It said that Türkiye has made key reforms, including enhancing its approach to risk-based AML/CFT supervision, taking steps to ensure sanctions for AML/CFT breaches, enhancing resources for its FIU and the use of financial intelligence produced and undertaking more complex ML investigations and prosecutions in line with risks.

Türkiye also improved its asset recovery system, prioritized TF investigations, prosecutions and confiscations related to UN-designated groups and enhanced its implementation of targeted financial sanctions for terrorism financing, FATF said.