Turkey faces threat of being grey listed by FATF

Turkey is set to be included in FATF's “grey list” for the failings in its AML and CFT regime. The decision can pave the way for an EU action to add the country to its money-laundering list.

FATF (Financial Action Task Force) is set to include Turkey in its “grey list” for the country’s inadequacy to  fight money laundering and terrorism financing. The decision is due to be announced Thursday. “Grey listing” by FATF means Turkey to be subject to special monitoring by the watchdog’s International Co-operation Review Group.

 

The announcement of the decision was scheduled at a time where foreign investment is low and the Turkish lira has been on a constant downward trend. Political instability and government interference in the financial markets had hampered the influx of foreign capital.  The country had been put on notice in a FATF report published in December 2019.

 

The FATF grey listing can trigger an E.U. decision to add the country to its own money-laundering list, identifying the substantial risks posed by the non-E.U. jurisdiction to the union’s financial system.

COPYRIGHT © 2021