Turkey speeding up efforts to track suspicious bank transactions in bid to combat with terror financing

Turkey is set to introduce a new system to increase the data quality in tracking suspicious transactions, in line with efforts to boost the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, senior officials announced on April 26. 

At the beginning of a two-day workshop hosted by the Financial Crime Investigation Board (MASAK) and the Banks' Association of Turkey (TBB) on April 26, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said one of the most significant elements of the MASAK's activities is instantly tracking suspicious transactions.

"The MASAK and the TBB have recently clinched a key initiative. Thanks to their collaborative work, we will soon be able to track and monitor all transactions simultaneously," Ağbal said on the sidelines of the workshop in Istanbul. 

Both Turkey's Revenue Administration and the MASAK now take retroactive data about banking and financial transactions and these data are provided by banks and other financial organizations on a periodic basis, he added. 

"Thanks to the new initiative, we will soon be able to get the most updated data in this area," said Ağbal, noting that this initiative would make a significant contribution in fight against the informal economy and in filing revenue tax information. 

MASAK President Osman Dereli said the institution had obtained considerable knowhow since its establishment in 1997, but its workload has almost increased by 10-fold since the failed July 2016 coup attempt. 

"Since the coup attempt, the importance of our institution has soared. Our workload has increased almost 10-fold since last July. So we have faced an urgent need for a restructuring and a capacity increase," Dereli said, adding that the institution would boost its cooperation with banks in the...