Ministry rules out gray-list risk after FATF review

ANKARA

Türkiye faces no risk of returning to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) gray list, the Treasury and Finance Ministry said on Sept. 23, citing the watchdog’s latest assessment.

FATF’s fifth-round mutual evaluation rated Türkiye compliant or largely compliant with 38 of its 40 recommendations. The remaining two were rated partially compliant.

In a separate assessment of practical effectiveness, Türkiye received substantial ratings in three of 11 areas and moderate ratings in the other eight.

The ministry said the findings confirmed that Türkiye had no strategic deficiencies in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of weapons of mass destruction.

It said legislative changes, institutional reforms and improvements in implementation had strengthened the country’s capacity to tackle financial crime.

FATF noted progress in financial intelligence and international cooperation, while calling for stronger money laundering investigations and prosecutions in high-risk areas and better recovery of criminal assets abroad.

The watchdog placed Türkiye in enhanced follow-up, a review process separate from gray-list monitoring, and set out a three-year roadmap for further action.

Türkiye was removed from the gray list in June 2024 after completing an action plan to address strategic shortcomings.

The ministry said work on issues identified in the report would continue under national strategies covering money laundering, terrorist financing and asset confiscation for 2026-2030, and proliferation financing for 2025-2029.