According to reports, Turkey is drafting new regulations to govern crypto assets to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove it from a “grey list” of nations that have not done enough to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
In 2021, the FATF placed Turkey on its grey list. According to a report, during a discussion with a parliamentary commission on October 31, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated that Turkey complied with all but one of the 40 FATF standards.
According to Simsek, the only outstanding issue for technical compliance relates to crypto assets. He mentioned intentions to propose a crypto assets law to parliament to remove crypto assets from the grey list, but he did not specify the legal changes.
The G7 advanced economies established the FATF to protect the international financial system. It cautioned Turkey in 2019 about significant deficiencies in procedures for blocking assets associated with terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Turkish Presidential Annual Program for 2024, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey on October 25, outlines the completion of cryptocurrency regulations by the end of 2024.
Article 400.5 of the 500-page document outlines the intended efforts to establish precise definitions for crypto assets, which could lead to their eventual taxation.
The document will also define crypto asset providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, for legal purposes. However, it does not provide further specifics on the impending regulatory framework.
By December 2022, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey had effectively completed the initial test of the digital lira, its central bank’s digital currency. It has stated its intent to continue testing through 2024.