Recent Developments
The Turkish Capital Markets Board (the
"CMB") recently initiated criminal
proceedings under Article 109/2 of the Capital Markets Law (the
"CML") against a foreign individual for
the unauthorized marketing of derivatives in Turkey. This is the
first such prosecution since clarification of the rules this past
July.
The offering of certain financial products and services is a
licensed activity in Turkey. Whether the marketing or otherwise
soliciting of financial products and services without a license
constituted a violation of the licensing requirements had long been
an open question. The CMB's Communiqué on Investment
Services No. III-37.1 (the
"Communiqué"), which entered into
force in July 2014, finally clarified this issue. It sets forth
that if a foreign institution provides investment services to a
Turkish resident who has initiated the communication, the foreign
institution is not required to obtain a license in Turkey, provided
it does
