Turkey moves to expand Masak's powers to combat illicit crypto activity

Key Takeaways

Turkey is expanding the powers of its Financial Crimes Investigation Board (Masak) to combat illicit crypto activities, including illegal gambling.
Masak could gain the authority to restrict mobile and internet banking operations suspected of facilitating financial crimes connected to cryptocurrencies.

Turkey is moving to strengthen its Financial Crimes Investigation Board (Masak) with expanded powers to combat illicit crypto activity, according to Bloomberg. The proposed measures target misuse of bank and crypto accounts in schemes such as illegal gambling and fraud.

The proposed regulation would grant Masak authority to impose restrictions on mobile and internet banking operations suspected of facilitating financial crimes. The initiative forms part of Turkey’s 11th Judicial Reform Package, which requires parliamentary approval to take effect.

Turkey has been aligning its financial crime framework with international anti-money laundering guidelines set by the Financial Action Task Force. The country recently implemented stricter compliance protocols requiring crypto exchanges to disclose transaction details and strengthen user identification requirements.

The expanded enforcement measures represent Turkey’s latest effort to crack down on crypto-related fraud while bringing its regulatory framework in line with global standards for combating money laundering through digital assets.