The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog – has removed Turkey from its so-called grey list. Countries on this list are those that do not fully comply with measures to prevent illicit financial dealings.
Turkey’s Removal From Grey List Opens Doors To Global Investors
Turkey welcomed this decision and believes that it may instil confidence in international investors to consider possibilities in this country. When the FATF red flags a country or company, it affects foreign investment and the performance of policy-driving benchmarks such as consumer price indexes.
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Analysts indicated that a ‘grey-listed’ standing can also scare away financing from world banks. Recently, Turkey experienced an acute economic decline and this announcement has offered some relief. The country’s finance minister, Mehmet Şimşek, took to social media and in an X post, simply stated: “We succeed.”
Turkey’s vice president Cevdet Yılmaz commented that this development strengthens “international investors’ confidence in our country’s financial system”. He added:
The decision will have extremely positive consequences for the financial sector and the economy.
T. Raja Kumar, the FATF president, confirmed that Turkey has made “substantial progress” and was therefore removed from the grey list. Media reports stated that an FATF team visited the country in May 2024 and found that “substantive steps” had been made to address money laundering. Kumar reportedly referred to Turkey’s detailed investigations into and subsequent prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Turkish lira (TRY) was 0.35% up against the USD at market close on Friday 28 June 2024.
