Financial Crime World

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Financial Fraud Investigation Techniques in Turkey: MASAK’s New Regulations and Expanded Scope

Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has recently updated its regulations to comply with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Mutual Evaluation Reports. The new regulations aim to prevent money laundering, combat financial crimes, and identify risks for economic security.

MASAK’s Compliance Program Changes

Obliged Parties to Create a Compliance Program

  • The scope of obliged parties has been expanded to include:
    • Group A authorized institutions
    • Finance, factoring and leasing companies
    • Precious metals intermediary institutions
    • Asset management companies
    • Electronic money institutions
    • Payment institutions

Financial Group Definition

  • Determination of the main financial institutions and other institutions that make up the financial group
  • Notification to MASAK within 30 days of changes in the financial group

Establishing a Compliance Program at the Financial Group Level

  • Assignment of:
    • Compliance Officer
    • Assistant Compliance Officer
  • Oversight responsibility for implementing the compliance program at the financial group level has been determined as the board of directors of the parent financial institution

Compliance Officer and Assistant Compliance Officer

  • Appointing an assistant compliance officer with qualifications sought for the compliance officer
  • Positioning them in the organization to be subordinate to the compliance officer

Internal Control

  • Regulation by whom internal audit activities can be carried out:
    • Internal audit units
    • Inspection board

New Obligated Persons in Certain Non-Financial Jobs and Professions

  • Free lawyers in terms of specific transactions
  • Intermediaries in precious metal, stone, or jewelry trading transactions
  • Intermediaries in the purchase and sale transactions of all kinds of sea, air, and land transportation vehicles, including construction equipment

Identification of Transaction Limits

  • The new regulations have increased the threshold for customer identification to transactions of TL 75,000 and above
  • For electronic transfers, customer identification is required for transactions of TL 7,500 and above

Identification of Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Abroad

  • According to relevant articles of the Measures Regulation:
    • Partners with more than 25% share of the legal person customer should be identified to recognize the real beneficiary
  • The new regulation has introduced an additional provision allowing confirmation of information obtained from foreign legal person partners through official sources open to the public in the relevant country

MASAK Audits and Sanctions

  • Liability audit carried out by MASAK can be done on-site or remotely
  • MASAK inspections and sanctions will be as follows:
    • Written warning and 30-day period to remedy the violation
    • Administrative fine of not less than 500,000 TL and an additional 60-day period to remedy the violation
    • If the violation is still not resolved, an administrative fine of twice the initial administrative fine and an additional 30 days

Comply with Regulations with Sanction Scanner

Sanction Scanner AML Compliance Solutions comply with all global and local regulators such as FATF and MASAK. By choosing Sanction Scanner AML solutions, you can easily comply with regulatory audits and compliance programs and protect your reputation by preventing financial crimes.

The new legislation has significant implications for businesses operating in Turkey, particularly those in the non-financial sector. Compliance with MASAK’s regulations is essential to avoid fines and reputational damage. Sanction Scanner offers AI-powered AML compliance solutions that can help businesses navigate the complex regulatory landscape and ensure compliance with ease. Contact us or request a demo to discover our AML compliance solutions that are best for you.