Regulation Amending the Regulation on Measures Regarding Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (“MASAK Regulation”) Has Been Published

4/6/2023

Regulation Amending the Regulation on Measures Regarding Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (“Amendment Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 05.04.2023 and numbered 32154 and entered into force on the same date.

Under the Amendment Regulation, legal entities registered in the trade registry are now included among the persons to whom remote identification can be made in accordance with Article 6/A of the MASAK Regulation.

Changes Introduced by the Amendment Regulation

According to the amendment, Article 6/A of the MASAK Regulation stipulates that remote identification method can now be used to verify the identity of legal entities registered in the trade registry in addition to natural persons, in cases where it is permitted in the legislation related to the primary field of activity to establish a contract with the customer by methods that allow verification of the identity of the customer without face-to-face contact with the customer.

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance ("Ministry") will determine the principles regarding the customer, the methods to be applied and the measures within the scope of customer identification in remote identification of legal entities registered in the trade registry, as well as other types of transactions that can be remotely identified.

Accordingly, based on Article 6/A of the MASAK Regulation, It in is expected that amendments will be made the MASAK General Communiqué No. 19 published in the Official Gazette dated 30.04.2021 and numbered 31470, and, depending on its content, to include legal entities registered in the trade registry within the scope of customers for remote identification in banking activities including other financial institutions (Payment / Electronic Money Institutions, Non-Bank Financial Institutions etc.) by the Ministry. Similarly, with the announcement dated 31.08.2022 on the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency’s (BRSA) website, the Draft Regulation Amending the Regulation on Remote Identification Methods to be Used by Banks and Establishment of Contractual Relationship in Electronic Environment, which covers commercial companies in remote customer acquisition, is expected to be published in the near future.

You can access the full text of the Amendment Regulation in Turkish here.

Aslı Kınsız, Senior Associate

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