TURKEY: 2007 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002970 SIPDIS INL FOR JOHN LYLE SIPDIS REF: STATE 136780 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: 2007 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT PART TWO Turkey Turkey is an important regional financial center, particularly for Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as for the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It continues to be a major transit route for Southwest Asian opiates moving to Europe. However, narcotics trafficking organizations are reportedly responsible for only a small portion of the total funds laundered in Turkey. Money laundering takes place in banks, nonbank financial institutions, and the underground economy. Money laundering methods in Turkey include: the cross-border smuggling of currency; bank transfers into and out of the country; trade fraud, and the purchase of high-value items such as real estate, gold, and luxury automobiles. It is believed that Turkish-based traffickers transfer money and sometimes gold via couriers, the underground banking system, and bank transfers to pay narcotics suppliers in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Funds are often transferred to accounts in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries. A substantial percentage of money laundering that takes place in Turkey involves fraud and tax evasion. Informed observers estimate that as much as 40-50 percent of the economy is unregistered. In 2005, the Government of Turkey (GOT) passed a tax administration reform law, with the goal of improving tax collection. The GOT is working on additional reforms to combat the unregistered economy and move these businesses onto the tax rolls. Turkey first criminalized money laundering in 1996. Under the law whoever commits a money laundering offense faces a sentence of two to five years in prison, and is subject to a fine of double the amount of the money laundered and asset forfeiture provisions. The Council of Ministers subsequently passed a set of regulations that require the filing of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), customer identification, and the maintenance of transaction records for five years. In 2006, the GOT enacted additional anti-money laundering legislation, a new criminal law, and a new criminal procedures law. The new Criminal Law, which took effect in June 2005, broadly defines money laundering to include all predicate offenses punishable by one year's imprisonment. Previously, Turkey's anti-money laundering law comprised a list of specific predicate offenses. A new Criminal Procedures Law also came into effect in June 2005. Under a Ministry of Finance banking regulation circular all banks, including the Central Bank, securities companies, post office banks, and Islamic financial houses are required to record tax identity information for all customers opening new accounts, applying for checkbooks, or cashing checks. The circular also requires exchange offices to sign contracts with their clients. The Ministry of Finance also mandates that a tax identity number be used in all financial transactions. The requirements are intended to increase the GOT's ability to track suspicious financial transactions. Turkey has a new law, which protects the identity of those who file suspicious transaction reports, and has helped to push suspicious transaction reports above 2,000 for the first time as of October ¶2007. According to anti-money laundering law Article 5, public institutions, individuals, and corporate bodies must submit information and documents as well as adequate supporting information upon the request of Turkey's Financial Crimes investigation Board (MASAK) or other authorities specified in Article 3 of the law. Individuals and corporate bodies from whom information and documents are requested may not withhold the requested items by claiming the protection provided by privacy provisions in order to avoid submitting the requested items. A new Banking Law was enacted in 2005 to strengthen bank supervision. The Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Agency (BRSA) conducts periodic anti-money laundering and compliance reviews under the authority delegated by MASAK. The number of STRs currently being filed is low, even taking into consideration the fact that many commercial transactions are conducted in cash. In 2006, 1140 STRs were filed. The upward trend continues as shown by the following results: 2005: 352 STRs were filed; 2004: 288 STRs were filed; 2003: 177 STRs were filed. Year-end 2007 statistics are not available. Turkey does not have foreign exchange restrictions. With limited exceptions, banks and special finance institutions must inform authorities within 30 days, about transfers abroad exceeding $50,000 (approximately 60,000 new Turkish liras) or its equivalent in foreign currency notes (including transfers from foreign exchange deposits). Travelers may take up to $5,000 (approximately 6,000 new Turkish liras) or its equivalent in foreign currency notes out of the country. Turkey does have cross-border currency reporting requirements. Article 16 of the recently-enacted MASAK law (see below) gives customs officials the authority to sequester valuables ANKARA 00002970 002 OF 004 of travelers who make false or misleading declarations and imposes fines for such declarations. MASAK was established by the 1996 anti-money laundering law as part of the Ministry of Finance. MASAK became operational in 1997, and it serves as Turkey's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),receiving, analyzing, and referring STRs for investigation. MASAK has three functions: regulatory, financial intelligence, and investigative. MASAK plays a pivotal role between the financial community and Turkish law enforcement, investigators, and judiciary. In October 2006, Parliament enacted a new law reorganizing MASAK along functional lines, explicitly criminalizing the financing of terrorism, and providing safe harbor protection to the filers of STRs. The law also expands the range of entities subject to reporting requirements, to include art dealers, insurance companies, lotteries, vehicle sales outlets, antique dealers, pension funds, exchange houses, jewelry stores, notaries, sports clubs, and real estate companies. It also specifies sanctions for failure to comply. The law gives MASAK the authority to instruct a number of different inspection bodies (such as the bank examiners, the financial inspectors or the tax inspectors) to initiate an investigation if MASAK has reason to suspect financial crimes. Likewise, MASAK can refer suspicious cases to the Public Prosecutor and the Public Prosecutor can ask MASAK to conduct a preliminary investigation prior to referring a case to the police for criminal investigation. In August 2007, the regulation on money laundering crime was enacted enforcing MASAK's authority to combat these crimes. However, neither the current draft of the legislation, nor a June 2006 set of amendments to Turkey's antiterrorism laws, expanded upon Turkey's narrow definition of terrorism applicable only in terms of attacks on Turkish nationals or the Turkish state. According to MASAK statistics, as of December 31, 2006 it had pursued 2,231 money laundering investigations since its 1996 inception, but fewer than ten cases resulted in convictions. Moreover, all of the convictions are reportedly under appeal. Most of the cases involve nonnarcotics criminal actions or tax evasion; as of December 31, 2005 41 percent of the cases referred to prosecutors were narcotics-related. The GOT enforces existing drug-related asset seizures and forfeiture laws. MASAK, prosecutors, Turkish National Police, and the courts are the government entities responsible for tracing, seizing and freezing assets. According to Article 9 of the anti-money laundering law, the Court of Peace-a minor arbitration court for petty offenses-has the authority to issue an order to freeze funds held in banks and nonbank financial institutions as well as other assets, and to hold the assets in custody during the preliminary investigation. During the trial phase, the presiding court has freezing authority. Public Prosecutors may freeze assets in cases where it is necessary to avoid delay. The Public Prosecutors' Office notifies the Court of Peace about the decision within 24 hours. The Court of Peace has 24 hours to decide whether to approve the action. There is no time limit on freezes. There is no provision in Turkish law for the sharing of seized assets with other countries. MASAK's General Communiqu No. 3, dated February 2002, requires that a special type of STR be filed by financial institutions in cases of suspected terrorist financing. However, until the amendments to the criminal code were enacted in June 2006, terrorist financing was not explicitly defined as a criminal offense under Turkish law. Various existing laws with provisions that can be used to punish the financing of terrorism include articles 220, 314 and 315 of the Turkish penal code, which prohibit assistance in any form to a criminal organization or to any organization that acts to influence public services, media, proceedings of bids, concessions, and licenses, or to gain votes, by using or threatening violence. To commit crimes by implicitly or explicitly intimidating people is illegal under the provisions of the Law No. 4422 on the Prevention of Benefit-Oriented Criminal Organizations. The GOT distributes to GOT agencies and financial institutions the names of suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations on the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions Committee consolidated list, as well as U.S.-designated names. Another area of vulnerability in the area of terrorist financing is the GOT's supervision of nonprofit organizations. The General Director of Foundations (GDF) issues licenses for charitable foundations and oversees them, although they have a limited number of auditors to cover more than 70,000 institutions. The Ministry of Interior regulates charitable nongovernmental associations (NGOs). GDF, as part of the Ministry of Interior, keeps central registries of the charitable organizations they regulate and they require charities to verify and prove their funding sources and to have bylaws. Charitable organizations are required to submit periodic financial reports to the regulators. The regulators and the police ANKARA 00002970 003 OF 004 closely monitor monies received from outside Turkey. The police also monitor NGO's for links to terrorist groups. Alternative remittance systems are illegal in Turkey, and in theory only banks and authorized money transfer companies are permitted to transfer funds. Trade-based money laundering, fraud, and underground value transfer systems are also used to avoid taxes and government scrutiny. There are 21 free trade zones operating in Turkey. The GOT closely controls access to the free trade zones. Turkey is not an offshore financial center. According to MASAK statistics, no assets linked to terrorist organizations or terrorist activities were frozen in 2006. Turkey has a system for identifying, tracing, freezing, and seizing assets that are not related to terrorism, although the law allows only for their criminal forfeiture and not their administrative forfeiture. Article 7 of the anti-money laundering law provides for the confiscation of all property and assets (including derived income or returns) that are the proceeds of a money laundering predicate offense (soon to be expanded to crimes punishable by one year imprisonment),once the defendant is convicted. The law allows for the confiscation of the equivalent value of direct proceeds that could not be seized. Instrumentalities of money laundering can be confiscated under the law. In addition to the anti-money laundering law, Articles 54 and 55 of the Criminal Code provide for post-conviction seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of crimes. The defendant, however, must own the property subject to forfeiture. Legitimate businesses can be seized if used to launder drug money or support terrorist activity, or are related to other criminal proceeds. Property or its value that is confiscated is transferred to the Treasury. In the months after 9/11, the Council of Ministers decreed (2482/2001) all funds and financial assets of individuals and organizations included on the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list be frozen. However, the tools available at that time under Turkish law for locating, freezing, seizing, and confiscating terrorist assets were cumbersome, limited, and ineffective. In late 2001, the Council of Ministers froze the funds of one individual accused of financing terror in Turkey. This individual filed an appeal in 2001, and in June 2006 the 10th Chamber of the Turkish Administrative Court overruled the original Council of Ministers decision on technical grounds. The 10th Chamber's decision was appealed, and upon review, in February 2007 the Highest Chamber Council of the Turkish Administrative Court upheld the original decision to freeze the individual's assets on the grounds that there were no legal irregularities in the original decision. The assets of the 1267-listed individual continue to be frozen. Since then changes in the law relating to MASAK, Turkish criminal code, and anti-terrorism law give more authority to seize and freeze assets quickly and make the Turkish system more compliant with international standards. The GOT cooperates closely with the United States and with its neighbors in the Southeast Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI). Turkey and the United States have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and cooperate closely on narcotics and money laundering investigations. Turkey is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Since 1998, MASAK has been a member of the Egmont Group, which is a coalition of international financial intelligence units that meet regularly to improve cooperation, information exchange, and the sharing of expertise. Turkey is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the UN International Convention for Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Turkey has signed and ratified the COE Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime, which came into force on February 1, 2005. In 2006, Turkey became a party to the UN Convention against Corruption. With the passage of several new pieces of legislation, the Government of Turkey took steps in 2006 and 2007 to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing regime. The GOT now faces the challenge of aggressively implementing these laws. In 2007, the GOT established a High Coordination Council on Financial Crimes, which consists of MASAK, Finance Ministry, Capital Markets Board, and Central Bank representatives. The aim of this board is to improve coordination among the agencies to combat financial crimes and support the work of MASAK. MASAK must improve its automation to be able to access to banks' and other financial institutions' data bases to speed up their process and refer cases more quickly to prosecutors. The GOT should also regulate and investigate remittance networks to thwart their potential misuse by terrorist organizations or their supporters. The GOT should consider expanding its narrow legal definition of terrorism, which currently is limited to crimes committed in Turkey and against Turks. The GOT should also strengthen its oversight of foundations and charities, ANKARA 00002970 004 OF 004 which currently receive only cursory overview and auditing. Wilson