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Removing Türkiye from the list would boost the country’s efforts to attract capital into its economy
According to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the deliberations are private. This means Turkey could exit the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on the final day of the group’s plenary session in Singapore on June 28, the people said. No final decisions have been made.
Enhancing capital attraction efforts
Removing Turkey from the list would boost the country’s efforts to attract capital to its $1.1 trillion economy after years of unconventional monetary policy that led investors to avoid lira-denominated assets.
Emre Becker, Europe director at the Eurasia Group, which is based in London, said, “The FATF move alone will not unleash money flows, but it will help Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek’s efforts to restore traditional economic policies and present Turkey as a strong investment destination.”
A large majority of the group’s members must vote to agree that Turkey has made sufficient progress before Ankara can exit the list.
Just a few votes to the contrary, especially with some members having more influence than others, could keep the country on the list, the people said. Members include individual countries and regional organizations such as the European Commission.
Simsek said last week that he was “determined” to remove Türkiye from the list. He added: “I hope that political considerations will not interfere.”
The Financial Action Task Force and the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance declined to comment.
Turkish reforms
Turkey has “substantially completed its action plan,” the FATF said after its plenary session in February, adding that this includes key reforms on its implementation of terrorist financing-related sanctions and strengthening the resources of the national financial intelligence agency, known by its Turkish acronym MASAK.
The government has also worked with the United States to freeze the assets of people accused of terrorism, and this month proposed a draft law regulating cryptocurrency platforms, to help address the FATF’s pending final recommendation on “new technologies.”
Turkey was originally added to the list under increased monitoring in October 2021. The country has faced scrutiny from Western governments, after it emerged as one of the destinations for wealthy Russians who fled after the outbreak of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022.
The designation has historically led to “statistically significant declines in capital flows,” according to a 2021 report by the International Monetary Fund.
Türkiye and South Africa are the only two G20 countries on this list. And it was done remove Emirates from the list last February.
