The Law on Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction came into force on December 31, 2020 after a speedy parliamentary procedure. It had been submitted on 16 December 2020 and approved by the Parliament on 27 December 2020 without any public debate. The Law mandates changes in 6 separate laws, including the Law on Collection of Aid and Law on Associations.
This will substantially increase control over aid collection and will likely restrict or prevent civil society from raising funds over the internet or offline.
By amending the Law on Collection of Aid the new law would (among others):
- Require a government permission to launch online aid campaigns and impose heavy penalties for violation of the law (double the administrative fines for unauthorized offline money collection campaigns).
- Oblige all natural persons and legal entities, including banks to provide any requested information by the responsible authorities.
By amending the Law on Associations the new law would (among others):
- Prohibit people convicted of crimes related to financing of terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering from being members in the bodies of associations (except for general assemblies).
- Authorize the Minister of Interior to "suspend the activity of the association" and "dismiss the boards": in case of a prosecution against a board member or staff of associations for terrorism financing, the Minister of Interior can suspend the individuals or the organs that the relevant individuals hold a post as a temporary measure. The Minister can also request temporary suspension of activities of the association appoint a trustee of the association.
- Require annual audits of the associations.
- Notify the relevant administrative authority before transferring aids abroad.
The government has used FATF Recommendations as one of the arguments for the adoption of the law. On the other hand, the 2019 Mutual Evaluation Report on Turkey lists the following priority action to Turkish authorities:
“Turkey should implement focused and proportionate measures to NPOs identified as at risk of TF abuse. A targeted risk-based approach and outreach on how to identify, prevent and report TF, with a focus on those NPOs assessed as higher risk for potential TF abuse would help avoid restricting and disrupting legitimate NPO activities”. (2019 Mutual Evaluation Report Turkey, page 10, Priority Action (e))
The newly adopted law, however, covers all CSOs and is expected to hinder their legitimate activities. It is important that Turkish authorities reconsider the adopted law and ensure it is in line with the risk-based approach and CSOs are engaged in these discussions.
ECNL is providing its expertise to different stakeholders and partners to this threat on the ground and works with global partners at FATF and other counter-terrorism bodies to address this latest trend in Turkey and assess the law’s compliance with international AML/CFT standards.
Read here for an analysis by TUSEV, supported by ECNL, on the implications of the FATF Recommendations on Turkish civil society.