A new era in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing from MASAK

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has prepared the 2026-2030 Strategy Document on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, along with its associated action plan, which includes new steps in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The new plan aims to prevent money laundering, strengthen judicial and administrative processes regarding terrorist financing, and more effectively implement the seizure and confiscation of assets derived from crime.

SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS WILL BE A PRIORITY

According to the action plan, investigations are expected to be initiated without delay in cases where there is strong evidence of money laundering. Complex suspicious transaction reports submitted to MASAK will be analyzed as a priority.

Requests forwarded by public prosecutor's offices and other judicial authorities will also be evaluated with priority. The progress of reports prepared by the Board in judicial processes will be systematically monitored with the contribution of relevant institutions.

Within the scope of the fight against the crime of terrorist financing, it will be essential to simultaneously conduct investigations into "terrorist financing" for all terrorist incidents that contain financing elements.

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP AUDITS WILL INCREASE

The scope of the electronic share ledger application will be expanded to ensure more transparent monitoring of partnership structures in companies. It is also planned to transfer old records in existing share ledgers to an electronic environment.

With this step, it is aimed to more effectively track company partnership structures and beneficial owner information. The Ministry of Trade and the Revenue Administration will conduct joint work at least every six months to identify potential erroneous declarations in the beneficial ownership registry.

In the event that an unexplained discrepancy is detected between the beneficial ownership registry and the trade registry, the information will be shared with MASAK and the Tax Inspection Board. Including taxpayers deemed risky in the audit program will also be evaluated.

Within the scope of the strategy document, new working groups consisting of representatives from various public institutions will be established under the coordination of MASAK. These groups will assess threats of money laundering and terrorist financing, strengthen operational cooperation, and prepare risk analyses.

The working groups are also expected to submit legislative development proposals, ensure coordination on ongoing major cases, and focus on specific topics through sub-working groups when necessary.

The Legislative Sub-Working Group, Case Sub-Working Group, Vulnerability Working Group, and Sanctions Monitoring Working Group will also operate according to needs.

The working groups will meet at least every three months to evaluate the results of the implementation. The status of the realization of the goals in the strategy document, the problems encountered, and solution proposals will be regularly reported to the Presidency.

News Source: 12punto