Turkey on Friday welcomed a decision by an international watchdog to remove it from a so-called “ gray list ” of countries that have not fully implemented measures to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
The announcement by the Financial Action Task Force in Singapore could bolster foreign investments in Turkey, which is trying to rebound from a deep economic downturn.
“We succeeded,” Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek wrote on the social media platform X, as the decision was being announced.
Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz said: “With this development, international investors’ confidence in our country’s financial system has become even stronger. The decision will have extremely positive consequences for the financial sector and the economy.”
Being on the watchdog’s gray list can scare away investors and creditors, hurting exports, output and consumption. It also can make global banks wary of doing business with a country.