Anti-corruption laws in Türkiye are established under various legal frameworks that aim to prevent bribery, corruption and misconduct, both in public and private sectors.
While intensifying its nationwide efforts to prevent corruption, Türkiye is also actively participating in international anti-corruption initiatives, implementing the decisions adopted by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OECD and other regional organizations.
Türkiye signed the UN Convention Against Corruption on December 10, 2003 and became a party to it on December 9, 2006, after completing the necessary ratification processes.
Türkiye is also a party to the Council of Europe's Civil Law Convention on Corruption, the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Türkiye fully implements all decisions and recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization which leads global efforts to prevent bribery and corruption.
For businesses, this translates into a need for stringent compliance programs, particularly when engaging in international transactions or dealings with foreign public officials.
Bribery is the most common example of a corruption-related crime involving both a government official and a private entity. Under Turkish law, bribery occurs when a private individual offers or gives something of value to a government official or someone appointed by the government official, directly or indirectly, with the intent to influence actions or outcomes or when a government official solicits or receives something of value in exchange for the government official’s exercise of or failure to exercise his or her public and legal duties. The Criminal Code is applicable to bribes offered by or given to Turkish and foreign government officials, governmental authorities, public authorities, judges, jury members, other officials of Turkish, foreign, international or supranational courts and arbitrators. Officials or representatives of international or supranational organizations are also punishable under the Criminal Code.
Bribery is punishable by imprisonment. The term of imprisonment may vary between 4 to 12 years and may be reduced or increased by the court depending on the specifics of the case and the defendant. Under Turkish law, criminal liability is a personal liability reserved for individuals rather than corporate entities. Therefore, corporate entities as legal persons may not be convicted or sentenced for committing a crime. Corporate corruption may be criminally punished only through prosecution of a corporation’s executives or board members. If found guilty, individual executives or, where it is not possible to identify individual executives for the purposes of liability, the entire board may be punished by imprisonment. The Criminal Code provides leniency provisions for individuals who report bribes or other corrupt activities to the authorities prior to commencement of an investigation. This rule does not, however, apply to the bribing of foreign officials.
The Criminal Code places an obligation of public duty on individuals with knowledge of any criminal offence to report the offence to the Public Prosecutor's Office. Failure to report is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year while the failure by public officials to report carries a penalty of imprisonment for six months to two years.
Furthermore, the Law on Money Laundering requires any party to a transaction with information, suspicion or reasonable grounds to suspect that an asset involved in the transaction or attempted transaction has been acquired through illegal means or used for illegal purposes to report the transaction to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). Parties to a transaction include entities engaged in banking, insurance, private pensions, capital markets, money lending or other financial activities.
MASAK regularly publishes guidelines for the notification of suspicious transactions in order to ensure that obliged parties have a common understanding and approach to preventing the laundering of criminal proceeds and financing of terrorism and to assist the obliged parties with identifying suspicious transactions. Regardless of the transaction amount, a suspicious transaction must be reported to MASAK by the obliged parties within 10 business days of the transaction raising a suspicion.
The Criminal Code provides a special prevention mechanism in the form of non-criminal sanctions, such as monetary fines under the Law on Misconduct or the revocation of the licenses required for operations, which may be imposed against corporate entities that have benefited from a corruption-related crime. Furthermore, certain sectors, such as energy, have regulations restricting the participation of officers and board members sentenced under the Criminal Code for corruption-related crimes.
On November 17, 2022, MASAK introduced the regulation on "persons with public influence" to fight against money laundering. In the regulation, it is stated that financial institutions, certain non-financial businesses and professions, and crypto asset service providers shall take measures to determine whether the customer or beneficial owner is a person of public influence. In this regard, pursuant to the Law No. 5549 on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, the procedures and principles regarding the tightened measures are to be taken and implemented by the obliged parties against persons with public influence.
Some of the monetary limits under the Regulation on Measures Regarding Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (published in the Official Gazette dated January 9, 2008 with the number 26751) (“Regulation”), with respect to customer identification requirements and wire transfer limitations, are increased since February 2023. Regarding customer identification, obliged parties shall identify their customers or those who act on behalf of or for the benefit of their customers by receiving their identification information and verifying it and take necessary measures for revealing the beneficial owner of the transaction if the amount of a single transaction or the total amount of multiple linked transactions is equal to or more than ₺185,000. Previous threshold was ₺85,000. Likewise, in wire transfers, the limit applicable to information requirement is increased to ₺15,000 from ₺7,500.
Criminal code
The primary legislation addressing corruption in Türkiye is the Criminal Code. The Criminal Code has a broad territorial reach in terms of jurisdiction for corruption-related crimes. Several articles under this code deal with crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, abuse of trust and fraud.
Bribery (rüşvet suçu) is one of the most common examples of corruption-related crime. Under the Turkish law, bribery occurs when an individual offers or gives something of value to a public official or someone appointed by the official or certain institutions and officials authorized to perform actions concerning the public interest, with the intent to influence the official’s actions or decisions. Bribery also occurs when the official solicits or receives something of value in exchange for performing or neglecting their public duties.
Institutions and officials having public interest that can commit bribery include: professional associations having public nature, companies established by such professional associations, cooperatives, associations working for the public’s interest as well as persons acting on behalf of publicly listed joint stock companies.
As part of implementing international agreements into domestic laws, the Criminal Code is also applicable to bribes offered by or given to: public officials appointed in a foreign state, judges, jury members or other officials serving in international or supranational courts or in courts of foreign states, members of international or supranational parliaments, individuals carrying out public activities for a foreign country, Turkish or foreign citizen arbitrators or representatives of international or supranational organizations established under international agreements.
Embezzlement (zimmet suçu) involves a public official who misappropriates goods that are entrusted to them or which they are obliged to protect and supervise by virtue of their position. Abuse of trust (güveni kötüye kullanma suçu), on the other hand, is a type of embezzlement that involves a private individual or a public individual (not acting in capacity as a public official), misusing someone else's property that has been entrusted to them for safekeeping or use. If the abuse of trust is committed by someone acting in a professional capacity, such as lawyers, accountants or company managers, the penalties are harsher. Company executives can commit this crime by diverting company funds for personal use or transferring them to unauthorized accounts, either for personal gain or to benefit third parties without proper approval from the company.
The above acts are punishable by imprisonment, in some cases for up to 12 years, depending on the specifics of the case. Additional judicial fines may also be imposed for certain crimes. The Criminal Code also places an obligation of public duty on individuals with knowledge of any criminal offence to report it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Failure to report is punishable by imprisonment for up to 1 year, while failure by public officials to report carries a penalty of imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 2 years.
That being said, the Code of Criminal Procedure grants suspects the right to remain silent. An individual is considered innocent until proven guilty and therefore has the right not to testify against themselves. Whether the right to remain silent applies to legal entities, such as corporations, remains a matter of debate, as this issue has yet to be addressed in judicial decisions. In addition, close relatives of suspects and certain professional groups such as accountants, lawyers or doctors, may refuse to testify in relation to the crimes they become aware of through their work.
The Criminal Code also provides leniency provisions for individuals who report corruption-related crimes to the authorities before an investigation commences. This rule does not, however, apply to the bribing of foreign public officials.
Law on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime
The Law on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime adds another layer of regulations that businesses in Türkiye must adhere to, particularly those in the financial sector. The law imposes obligations on various sectors, including banks, factoring companies, financial leasing companies, portfolio management companies and crypto asset service providers to verify customer identities, maintain accurate records and report suspicious transactions to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
- KYC (Know Your Customer) Obligations: Entities subject to the law are required to verify the identity of their clients and their ultimate beneficial owners.
- Suspicious Transaction Reporting: Entities subject to the law are obliged to report any suspicious transactions to MASAK and in some cases to suspend the transaction, if they suspect that the transaction involves funds derived from or used for illegal activities. MASAK regularly publishes guidelines for the notification of suspicious transactions in order to ensure that obliged parties have a common understanding and approach to preventing the laundering of criminal proceeds and financing of terrorism and to assist the obliged parties with identifying suspicious transactions. Regardless of the transaction amount, a suspicious transaction must be reported to MASAK by the obliged parties within 10 business days of the transaction raising suspicion.
In July 2024, the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide for the Crypto Asset Service Providers was updated to better align with the evolving nature of financial technologies. Key updates include a simplified reporting form covering all modern financial technologies, the addition of crypto sector-specific transaction and account types and new categories for suspicious transactions. MASAK’s online system, which allows electronic transaction reporting, has been redesigned and is now available to the crypto asset service providers.
MASAK is also authorized to exchange information with foreign counterparts, particularly in cases of cross-border money laundering or terrorist financing investigations, ensuring compliance with global anti-money laundering standards.
Violations of the law, such as failure to conduct KYC or report suspicious transactions, can result in administrative fines or, in severe cases, criminal charges, including imprisonment.
In accordance with the Turkish tax laws, all payments made to parties that required to issue invoices related to the delivery of goods or services, as well as any payments made between businesses and their shareholders or other individuals or entities, must be processed through financial institutions if they exceed ₺7,000 (for 2024). Cash payments are not permitted for amounts over this threshold and these transactions are required to be handled by financial institutions only. This will trigger financial institutions' obligation to identify and report any suspicious activities related to such payments.
Corporate liability for corruption in Türkiye
Under Turkish law, criminal liability is a personal liability reserved for individuals rather than corporate entities. Therefore, corporate entities as legal persons may not be convicted or sentenced for committing a crime. Corporate corruption may be criminally punished only through prosecution of a corporation’s executives or board members. If found guilty, individual executives or, where it is not possible to identify individual executives for the purposes of liability, the entire board may be punished by imprisonment.
In addition, the Criminal Code provides a special prevention mechanism in the form of non-criminal sanctions, such as monetary fines under the Law on Misconduct or the revocation of the licenses required for operations, which may be imposed against corporate entities that have benefited from a corruption-related crimes. Furthermore, certain sectors, such as energy, have regulations restricting the participation of officers and board members sentenced under the Criminal Code for corruption-related crimes.
Corporate compliance programs
Corporate compliance programs are becoming increasingly important, especially for companies with international ties or those operating in sectors where regulatory oversight is high. While only a limited number of companies in Türkiye are legally required to implement compliance programs, such as banks, insurance companies and portfolio management companies, other corporations are also adopting voluntary compliance programs related to anti-bribery and anti-corruption.
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