Turkey to toughen law on crypto assets: minister

ANKARA, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Turkey prepares new legislation covering cryptoassets in a bid to persuade an international crime watchdog to remove them from a “grey list” of countries that have failed to take action insufficient to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Türkiye downgraded to a so-called gray list in 2021. Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday evening, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said a FATF report concluded that Turkey was in full compliance with all of the body’s 40 standards surveillance, except one.

“The only remaining issue within technical compliance is work related to crypto assets,” Simsek said.

“We will submit a proposed law on cryptoassets to Parliament as soon as possible. After that, there will be no reason for Turkey to remain on this gray list, if there are no other considerations policies.”

Simsek gave no further details on the planned legal changes.

The FATF, created by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the global financial system, had warned Turkey of “serious shortcomings”, including the need to improve measures to freeze assets linked to terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in 2019.