New Regulations to Tighten Control Over Money Transfers

According to the new regulations published in the Official Gazette, the identity verification of non-Turkish citizens can be done remotely as part of the fight against financial crimes. New rules for passport verification, address confirmation, and money transfers have come into effect, while MASAK audits will also be tightened.As part of the fight against money laundering, financial institutions will be able to verify the identities of non-Turkish citizens remotely. The address information obtained through remote identity verification must be verified through a residence document, a utility bill, or a public record within three months. No money transfers or cash withdrawals can be made without address verification.The Regulation Amending the General Communique of the Financial Crimes Investigation Board of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance was published in the Official Gazette and came into effect. The regulation governs the procedures and principles for remote identity verification methods to be used for customer identification under the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering.