Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy and an expert on the confluence of money laundering and terrorism, drew my attention to an important story getting lost in the shuffle of confirmation hearing and more violent stories from the Middle East:
The Turkish parliament is scrambling to avert action by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body meant to combat money laundering and terror financing, which would place Turkey on its blacklist if it does not adopt legislation preventing terror finance within a month.
Hürriyet Daily News quotes Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin:
There are two countries on the black list of the FATF: Iran and North Korea. If Turkey fails to adopt the legislation by Feb. 22, the Turkish economy may face serious problems. In such a case money transfers from and to Turkey would be possible only after checks by the FATF’s examination mechanism. This mechanism would cause serious problems for Turkey’s exports, imports and hot money flow, which could lead to negative impacts on general parameters of our economy.
The only thing sadder than the fact that Turkey, which claims to be an ally, must be dragged kicking and screaming to stop financing terror is the fact that 150 congressmen have endorsed a country that may soon join the Islamic Republic of Iran and North Korea on the terror financing blacklist. When President Obama described Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan as a personal friend, it is time to ask whether Obama truly understands the differences between ally and adversary.