Binance Turkey fined 8 million lira for breach of anti-money laundering rules

The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) has fined Binance Turkey 8 million lira (about $ 750,000) after the exchange failed to pass the audit of the financial control body to supervise compliance with the rules against money laundering (AML).

The Board of Investigation Of Crime s Financiers, which serves as Turkey’s financial intelligence unit under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, found that Binance’s operations in Turkey are guilty of breaking laws that are intended to prevent the laundering of money acquired by criminal means. According the local media outlet Anadolu Agency, MASAK carried out an audit of Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of Laundering of Proceeds of Crime, also known as the AML Law.

The Anti-Money Laundering Law in Turkey requires companies to identify and verify the personally identifiable information of customers on the platform, which includes details such as last name, date of birth , TC identification number (the Turkish equivalent of the social security number) together with the type and number of identity documents. The law also requires companies to immediately notify the government of suspicious activity within 10 days.

As Cointelegraph Turkey reported, the The watchdog imposed the maximum possible administrative fine of 8 million Turkish lira for the alleged infringement. Furthermore, this deadline also coincides with the day that President Erdoğan announced the completion of a draft law on cryptocurrencies which will soon be delivered to the Turkish Parliament for approval.

With this, Binance also becomes the first cryptocurrency company to be fined by the Turkish government. Additionally, MASAK is working closely with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global regulator against money laundering and terrorist financing, according to former Finance and Costs Minister Lutfi Elvan:

“The FATF has called for measures to be taken against cryptocurrency buying and selling platforms “

In line with this request, the MASAK has also agreed to report transactions exceeding the value of 10,000 lira within 10 days.

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, confirmed the completion of a cryptocurrency law that will soon be handed over to Parliament for implementation in the country.

As reported by Cointelegraph , the law provides for a new economic model that can reinforce Turkey’s effort to regain the value of the lira, which is depreciating. Erdoğan also said that the recent inflation of the Turkish lira is not related to mathematics, but rather a matter of process, implying a possibility and potential for growth of the value of the lira:

“With this understanding, we intend to channel it to a dry point. But the exchange rate will find its own market price “.