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Turkey's 'Wealth Peace' Law Criticized as 'Begging for Dirty Money'
🇹🇷 Turkey /Economy & Trade

Turkey's 'Wealth Peace' Law Criticized as 'Begging for Dirty Money'

From Cumhuriyet · () Turkish

Translated from Turkish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Turkey has enacted a law legalizing undeclared domestic and foreign assets, termed 'Varlık Barışı' (Wealth Peace).
  • Opposition critic Özgür Karabat claims the move aims to finance an "authoritarian regime" by attracting "dirty money" through high interest rates.
  • Karabat warns Turkey risks returning to the FATF grey list due to its high risk score in money laundering and terrorism financing, citing the Basel AML Index.

Turkey has officially enacted the 'Varlık Barışı' (Wealth Peace) law, which aims to legalize undeclared domestic and foreign assets. The legislation, published in the Official Gazette, has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition.

We are facing a government that begs for dirty money to build an authoritarian regime. The regulation made under the name 'Wealth Peace' is exactly this, to bring money from abroad to Turkey.

— Özgür KarabatCHP Deputy Chairman Özgür Karabat criticizes the 'Varlık Barışı' law, linking it to financing authoritarianism.

Özgür Karabat, a Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), described the move as an attempt by the ruling party to "beg for dirty money" to finance the construction of an "authoritarian regime." He argued that the regulation is designed to bring foreign capital into Turkey, but due to a lack of confidence in the country's economy, only high-interest funds are attracted. Karabat further stated that the legalization of "black money" is now being added to this strategy.

Karabat expressed skepticism about the government's economic policies, particularly those of Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. He recalled Turkey's temporary exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in 2024 after being placed on it in 2021, noting that Turkey remains under close FATF observation. "No matter what Şimşek does, he will fail," Karabat asserted, accusing Şimşek of being responsible for financing a "judicial coup."

No matter what Şimşek does, he will fail.

— Özgür KarabatKarabat expresses strong doubt about the success of the current economic policies under Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.

Citing the Basel AML Index, published by the Swiss-based Basel Institute on Governance, Karabat highlighted Turkey's concerning position. The index measures countries' risks regarding money laundering and terrorism financing. Turkey ranked 62nd out of 177 countries, with a risk score of 5.65 out of 10, placing it in the "medium-high risk" category. Karabat warned that Turkey could soon be placed back on the FATF grey list, a move he believes the ruling party will defend as "state wisdom."

Turkey will soon enter the grey list again, and the AKP will defend this as state wisdom.

— Özgür KarabatKarabat predicts Turkey's potential return to the FATF grey list.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Cumhuriyet in Turkish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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