Pursuant to Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, those defined as obligated parties are required to report suspicious transactions to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board ("MASAK") Presidency. In this context, Communiqué No. 13 issued by MASAK stipulates the procedures and principles for reporting suspicious transactions and provides that the MASAK Presidency may issue general and sector-specific guides for reporting suspicious transactions.
On 18 April 2022, the MASAK Presidency published the first version of a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide specifically for Crypto Asset Service Providers. In an announcement made on 23 July 2024, it introduced the second version of this guide, which came into effect on 26 July 2024.
With the new Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide, in summary the following points are regulated:
- A suspicious transaction reporting form has been developed that aligns with the working systematics of Crypto Asset Service Providers and the transaction systematics of crypto assets,
- The Suspicious Transaction Reporting Form has been simplified to encompass all current financial technologies,
- Sector-specific transaction and account types have been added,
- New suspicious transaction types have been added considering evolving and changing crime typologies,
- Terrorist organization information and categories related to the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction have been added to the notification categories,
- Control points have been added in the explanation field regarding suspicious transactions to enhance the quality of reports,
- Reference value tables have been updated and codings have been changed,
- Sections for identification type and Financial Institution Mediating the Transaction have been added,
- New suspicion categories have been added and the selection of a suspicion category has been made mandatory.
Additionally, with these updates, the MASAK Online 1.0 system, which facilitates electronic reporting, has been updated and made available for use by crypto asset service providers.
You can access the full text of the announcement made by the MASAK Presidency through this link (only available in Turkish).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.