The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Measures Regarding the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism (“Amendment Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 07.10.2026 and numbered 33393 and entered into force on the same date. The Amendment Regulation introduces flexibility regarding the requirement to obtain signature specimens in subsequent transactions, increases the monetary thresholds applicable to customer identification and electronic and crypto-asset transfers, and introduces new provisions concerning compliance audit reporting by obliged parties.
Signature Specimens No Longer Required for Subsequent Transactions Where Verification Is Performed Using SMS OTP
Prior to the amendment, Article 16/1 of the Regulation, titled “Customer Identification in Subsequent Transactions”, required, in subsequent face-to-face transactions conducted within the scope of an ongoing business relationship and requiring customer identification, the identity information of persons whose identity had previously been duly established to be obtained and compared with the information held by the obliged party, and a signature specimen to be obtained.
Under the provision added by Article 2 of the Amendment Regulation, financial institutions will no longer be required to obtain a signature specimen in such subsequent face-to-face transactions where verification is performed through internet or mobile service channels or by means of a one-time verification code sent via short message service (“SMS OTP”) to the customer’s mobile phone number that is registered with and has previously been verified by the obliged party.
Such verification must be appropriate to the nature and risk level of the transaction, provide sufficient assurance that the person conducting the transaction is the customer whose identity was previously established, and include appropriate security measures against the risk of unauthorised persons conducting transactions on behalf of the customer.
Monetary Thresholds for Customer Identification, Electronic Transfers and Crypto-Asset Transfers Increased
Under the amendment to Article 5/1(b) of the Regulation, the general threshold requiring customer identification based on the amount of a transaction or the aggregate amount of multiple linked transactions has been increased from TRY 185,000 to TRY 370,000. For crypto-asset service providers, the threshold has been increased from TRY 15,000 to TRY 30,000.
Under the amendment to Article 5/1(c), the threshold requiring customer identification for electronic transfers and crypto-asset transfers carried out by crypto-asset service providers has been increased from TRY 15,000 to TRY 30,000.
The TRY 15,000 threshold under Article 24 of the Regulation, which governs the requirements concerning sender and recipient information in domestic and cross-border electronic transfer messages, has been increased to TRY 30,000.
Similarly, the TRY 15,000 threshold under Article 24/A of the Regulation, which governs the requirements concerning sender and recipient information in messages relating to crypto-asset transfers intermediated by crypto-asset service providers, has been increased to TRY 30,000.
New Paragraph Added Regarding Compliance Audit Reporting by Obliged Parties
According to paragraph 1 of Article 38 of the Regulation, a compliance audit report is prepared following a compliance audit, and a violation investigation report is prepared following a violation investigation.
Pursuant to the new paragraph 3 added to Article 38 of the Regulation, only an obliged party compliance audit report will be prepared for obliged parties other than financial institutions. Where a violation is identified during the audit, the relevant violation will be included in this report, and the obliged party compliance audit report will also serve as the obliged party violation examination report.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
