VZCZCXRO6920
RR RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #0464/01 0371145
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061145Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2945
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 9752
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0368
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000464 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
TREAS FOR OFAC (RWERNER), FINCEN (MMELANCON), EOTFFC 
(POBRIEN) AND (RLEBENSON, JSERAFINI), OIA (JGARDNER) 
AND/OR (MLEAVITT) 
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT - JSILVERWOOD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KTFN PTER TU
SUBJECT: ENGAGING TURKEY ON FINANCIAL CRIME 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 325 
 
     ¶B. ANKARA 250 
     ¶C. 05 ANKARA 7497 
     ¶D. 05 ANKARA 7440 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The U.S. is engaging the Government of 
Turkey on multiple fronts to continue strengthening its 
regime against terrorism finance and money laundering. 
Through diplomatic advocacy and a series of visits and 
workshops, the U.S. has highlighted Turkey's need for a 
domestic designation system, to pass laws that 
definitively criminalize the financing of international 
terrorism, and to work together more effectively with 
other countries.  Altough tangible results from these 
efforts will take time, they appear to be paying 
dividends.  Most recently, key officials are expressing 
an interest in pursuing a domestic designation system. 
Assigning a Resident Legal Advisor to Embassy Ankara 
would also help build Turkish prosecutorial and law 
enforcement capacity.  End summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
GOT Falls Short on Terrorism Finance 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Turkey's current legal framework is not 
equipped to effectively combat financial flows through 
Turkey to terrorist groups inside or outside Turkey. 
While GOT officials pass on UN and U.S.-designated names 
of terrorists to all law enforcement and intelligence 
agencies, as well as to financial institutions, Turkish 
law does not yet explicitly criminalize the financing of 
terrorism.  Furthermore, Turkish law defines terrorism 
only in terms of attacks on Turkish nationals or the 
Turkish state.  While Turkey is a member of the Financial 
Action Task Force (FATF), it is not fully in compliance 
with FATF's special recommendations on terrorism finance. 
On the enforcement side, stovepiping of information 
within GOT agencies inhibits their ability to work with 
each other and to cooperate with other countries. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Turkey faces a FATF review in late 2006.  As 
Treasury U/S Levey reminded Turkish Ministers and senior 
officials when he visited in June, Turkey will fall short 
on many of the FATF special recommendations on terrorism 
finance.  Since Levey's visit, the GOT submitted to 
Parliament in November 2005 the "MASAK law" (named after 
the Turkish financial crime intelligence agency that it 
seeks to reorganize), which will explicitly criminalize 
terrorism finance and offer safe harbor protection for 
filers of suspicious transaction reports (STRs).  The law 
is currently under review by a sub-commission of 
Parliament.  The Turkish Finance Minister recently told 
us he expects it to pass in February (ref A).  However, 
Parliamentary action on changes in Turkey's criminal code 
that would extend the definition of terrorism beyond acts 
directly aimed at Turkish interests appears to be 
stalled.  The reasons for the delay seem unrelated to 
this point, but until the definition is expanded, there 
will not be a predicate offense that would permit action 
against financing in support of international terror 
groups. 
 
------------------------------ 
Continuing Diplomatic Advocacy 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The USG has engaged Turkish officials at all 
levels to encourage the GOT to strengthen its counter- 
terrorism finance (CTF) regime.  After earlier missions 
by an FSAT team and by a FINCEN official, U/S Stuart 
Levey's June visit was an opportunity to urge the 
Ministers of Finance and Justice, as well as other senior 
officials, to bolster Turkey's CTF regime and to offer 
enhanced U.S. cooperation, including the visit of an 
interagency team in September.  Similarly, former 
Ambassador Edelman repeatedly encouraged the GOT to 
criminalize terrorism finance and to broaden its overall 
definition of terrorism.  Post regularly meets with MASAK 
President Genc Osman Yarasli and MFA, Justice, and 
Interior Ministry officials responsible for terrorism 
finance issues to monitor and spur progress.  In his 
first meeting the Finance Minister Unakitan, Ambassador 
 
ANKARA 00000464  002 OF 003 
 
 
Wilson stressed the importance of Turkey's FATF review 
and of the passage of the MASAK law (ref A). 
 
----------------------------------- 
Vienna Conference is a Wake-Up Call 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In addition to this policy advocacy, in November 
the USG sent three GOT officials to a U.S.- and OSCE- 
sponsored conference on terrorism finance in Vienna.  One 
of the delegates, Recep Guven, Director of the Turkish 
National Police (TNP) Intelligence Department's Organized 
Crime Division, told us that the Turkish delegation was 
particularly interested in an Albanian case study 
presented at the conference that showed how a developing 
country could be successful in combating terrorism 
finance.  Guven said that a French representative at the 
meeting was critical of several countries, including 
Turkey, for not complying with FATF recommendations. 
Guven told us that upon his return, he urged Turkish 
officials to develop a domestic designation system.  He 
also noted that attending the conference with MASAK 
colleagues improved cooperation and communication between 
TNP and MASAK -- cooperation that they hope to 
institutionalize with the creation of a TNP terrorism 
finance division (ref B). 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Establishing a Resident Legal Advisor Position 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. (SBU) As Washington has proposed, a Resident Legal 
Advisor (RLA) assigned to Embassy Ankara would be 
beneficial for several reasons.  An RLA could organize 
training programs that would enhance the GOT's ability to 
effectively investigate and prosecute criminal cases, an 
area of technical weakness for Turkish officials.  An RLA 
could also increase USG engagement with the Turkish 
Ministry of Justice in order to find ways to translate 
into enhanced cooperation.  Jim Silverwood, Regional 
Director of the Department of Justice's Office of 
Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and 
Training (DOJ/OPDAT), visited Turkey in November to 
propose the creation of an RLA position. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Treasury Visit Sparks Interest in Designations 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (SBU) As a second follow-up to Treasury U/S Levey's 
June visit, in December Treasury official Christopher 
Burdick made a presentation on terrorism finance 
designations to a sizable interagency group of GOT 
officials, chaired by MASAK President Yarasli (ref D). 
Burdick addressed the rationale behind designations, 
international agreements regarding them, and the U.S. 
designation system.  Yarasli and his colleagues asked 
numerous questions throughout the presentation, primarily 
focused on the de-listing process and executive branch 
officials' legal authority to designate.  Following 
Burdick's presentation, MASAK Deputy President Ender 
Tosun told us that Yarasli is interested in Turkey 
developing a domestic designation system. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Enhanced Role for FIU in Combating PKK 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In December, an interagency U.S. team held a two- 
day round of meetings with GOT officials to discuss 
enhanced cooperation against PKK in Europe (ref C). In a 
side meeting, Burdick explained to MASAK officials two 
ways in which they could use CTF tools against the PKK. 
He noted that they could make information requests of 
other financial intelligence units (FIUs) to obtain more 
specific information about PKK operatives and front 
companies.  In addition, if Turkey established a domestic 
designation system, the GOT could then use intelligence 
information to meet the evidentiary standard required for 
a designation by either the EU Clearinghouse of by 
national designation authorities.  MASAK'S Ender Tosun 
took the point and noted Yarasli's interest in using 
domestic designations to target PKK supporters and front 
 
ANKARA 00000464  003 OF 003 
 
 
groups. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
OPDAT Workshops to Offer Asset Forfeiture Training 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In another effort to build Turkish AML/CTF 
capacity, DOJ's OPDAT will hold three workshops on the 
practical application of money laundering and asset 
forfeiture investigations and prosecutions.  Three two- 
day seminars, to be held in Ankara, Antalya, and Istanbul 
in late February and early March, will each train 30 
prosecutors, investigators, and FIU officials from the 
GOT.  Participants will be given a case study on money 
laundering, which they will work through with assistance 
from a U.S. delegation of prosecutors and Drug 
Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents.  The overall 
goal of the program is to provide practical concepts and 
methods to effectively address money laundering through 
legislation, investigation, and prosecution. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) In addition to our constant policy advocacy, 
the series of visits, conferences, and seminars help keep 
the GOT focused on strengthening its AML/CTF regime in 
the run-up to Turkey's peer review under the FATF, 
expected later this year.  With the imminent passage of 
the law reorganizing MASAK (which also contains key 
provisions improving the anti-terror finance regime) and 
the continued USG engagement, there is reason to think 
that Turkey is slowly making progress in this field, but 
we will need to maintain our engagement and support. 
 
WILSON