Suspicious financial transactions to be suspended in Turkey: Authority

The process will start when any documents are found or serious suspicions arise about the existence of any money laundering or terror financing activities in transactions through banks, financing and factoring companies, equity capital funds, asset management companies or notaries, said the decree, which was published in the Official Gazette on July 29. 

The respective parties will be responsible for reporting such transactions along with supportive evidence to MASAK and will demand the transaction be suspended. 

Solid and robust evidence about the existence of money laundering or terror financing activities will be a must to start a probe. 

The parties will avoid making and finalizing the transaction until the final decision by the Finance Ministry is notified by MASAK. 

If any suspicious documents or signals are, the transaction will be suspended by an official notification, according to the decree. 

The respective parties will not make the transactions in seven weekdays after the notification. 

Any such reasoned demand by a foreign financial institution regarding the suspension of any transactions which are suspiciously for money laundering or terror financing will be directly assessed and reviewed by the Finance Ministry. 

The ministry will make a decision after probing all the evidence in line with the reciprocity rule.