Turkey is poised to be removed from a financial watchdog’s “grey list” as early as next month, a potential boost to one of the Middle East’s biggest economies following its efforts to curb illicit money flows.
The expected change would boost Turkey’s efforts to attract capital into its $1.1 trillion economy, equaled in size regionally only by Saudi Arabia, after years of unorthodox monetary policy that spurred investors to shun lira assets. About a year into Turkey’s embrace of more conventional economics, and some of the world’s most aggressive interest-rate increases, investors are starting to return.
A significant majority of the FATF’s members must vote that Turkey has made sufficient progress before it can get off the list. Just a few votes to the contrary — some members have more sway than others – could result in it staying on the list, the people said. Members include individual countries and regional organizations such as the European Commission.
The government has also worked with the US to freeze terrorists’ assets and this month proposed a bill regulating cryptocurrency platforms to help address FATF’s final outstanding recommendation on “new technologies.” ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW Read more: The Global Task Force That’s Going After Dirty Money: QuickTake