New Delhi: Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the decision to put an intergovernmental body known as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering and terrorist funding decisions on the so-called “gray” watch list was a political move. Is.
“We all know that this decision is not a fair and just decision, but a political decision,” he told IANS at a press conference.
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“It is Europe and the West that finance terrorism and give it strength and direction. We are the ones who pay the price and struggle, but it is Turkey they blame.”
The FATF has also placed Mali and Jordan on its enhanced watch list.
FATF President Marcus Pleier said during a press conference on Thursday that Turkey needed to address “serious oversight issues” in its banking and real estate sectors and with gold and precious stones dealers.
“Turkey needs to show that it is effectively dealing with complex money laundering cases and to show that it is pursuing terrorist financing trials commensurate with its risks and that of IS and al-Qaeda,” he was quoted as saying by IANS. such as prioritizing the cases of terrorist organizations designated by the United Nations. .
Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry said on Friday that downgrading Ankara to the gray list despite coordination work with the watchdog resulted in an unfair result, noting that Ankara has taken steps considering the FATF report.
“Our country introduced a law on December 27, 2020 that prevents the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” it said in a statement, adding that Turkey has made remarkable progress under FATF standards during the pandemic.
The ministry said that Ankara will continue to take necessary steps in cooperation with the FATF and ensure that Turkey is removed from the list as soon as possible.
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