MASAK 2024 Annual Activity Report Has Been Published

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board ("MASAK") operating under the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of the Republic of Türkiye has published its 2024 Annual Activity Report (“Report”) on MASAK’s official website.

MASAK functions as a specialized authority dedicated to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, with the overarching objective of safeguarding economic security.

The Report comprehensively outlines MASAK’s operational activities, supervision efforts, and statistical data in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

In summary, the Report includes the following highlights:

•          MASAK’s activities in 2024 reflect Türkiye’s strategic approach to protecting national and international financial system integrity.

•          In 2024, MASAK received a total of 615.635 notifications, of which 588.595 were suspicious transaction reports.

•          Throughout the year, MASAK completed 6.161 case analyses, resulting in the transmission of 4.621 analytical reports to the relevant authorities.

•          Compared to 2023, the number of completed analyses increased by 17%, while the number of reports transmitted rose by 20%.

•          According to Article 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 5271), asset freezing measures were ordered for the following amounts:

•          TRY 27,713,813

•          USD 6,295

•          EUR 17,000

Under Law No. 6415, decisions regarding the freezing of assets belonging to individuals, entities, or organizations listed in United Nations Security Council Resolutions are rendered by the President and are implemented without delay. These decisions must be published in the Official Gazette.

 

•          Where MASAK identifies concrete evidence of money laundering during its investigations, criminal complaints are filed with judicial authorities. In this context, criminal complaints were filed against 148 individuals in 2024.

•          According to Article 11 of Law No. 5549, MASAK conducts two types of inspections: compliance audits and investigations into breaches of obligations. In cases of non-compliance, the following enforcement actions may be pursued;

 

•          Administrative fines

•          Referral to judicial authorities through criminal complaints

 

•          The regulatory amendments introduced by MASAK in 2024 include the following notable points:

 

•          Independent attorneys and electronic commerce intermediary service providers were included among the obliged parties.

•          Crypto asset service providers have been classified among financial institutions subject to severe sanctions under MASAK regulations.

•          While disputes concerning administrative fines were previously subject to judicial review in criminal courts, recent amendments have opened the path to administrative judicial review.

 

•          MASAK has maintained active cooperation with international bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force, the Egmont Group, and the Council of Europe.

 

You can access the full text of the Report (in Turkish) here.

 

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr

All information and documents on our website have been prepared by Zumbul Attorneys at Law for general informational purposes only, in accordance with the Attorneyship Law, other relevant legislation and the Professional Rules of Attorneyship of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. These publications are not intended for advertising or commercial purposes. The information and documents provided are of a general nature and under no circumstances, do they guarantee or warrant that the content is complete, accurate, up-to-date, or reliable. You should not rely on the information and documents on this website without first consulting a lawyer or expert. The links included in our website’s publications are sourced from publicly available materials and are provided solely for the convenience of visitors in accessing additional information. These links do not constitute any form of recommendation or endorsement of the linked persons, institutions or organizations. The information on this website does not in any way constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with visitors to the site. All content on this website is the property of by Zumbul Attorneys at Law, and no content may be copied, reproduced, or used without prior written permission.