Financial Intelligence Unit of Turkey Begins Investigatng into FTX Collapse

• by Artem
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• November 17, 2022
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• Cryptocurrency News

The struggling cryptocurrency exchange FTX is the subject of an inquiry by the Turkish organization in charge of combating financial crime. The government disclosed it had been monitoring the trading platform’s activity in Turkey days after it filed for bankruptcy in the US. Along with financial regulators in other nations, Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), an agency under the Ministry of Finance in Ankara, has opened an inquiry into the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

“It is well known to the public that a crypto asset trading platform operating on a global scale with the trade name FTX.com has not been able to fulfill its obligations to its customers in recent days,” said the agency, noting that both local and international press has covered the progress extensively.

In a statement made public on Monday, MASAK stressed that, under existing Turkish law, companies that provide services for digital assets are considered accountable businesses subject to the Law on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and other pertinent acts. The watchdog also said it had been closely observing such parties’ actions in the nation connected to FTX. 

According to the agency, the inquiry will focus on transactions conducted through the accounts of both crypto providers and electronic money institutions, and the findings will be shared with the appropriate legal and administrative authorities. FTX has been subject to bankruptcy procedures since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on November 11. Unless they already have a registered IBAN, FTX’s Turkish platform, Ftxtr.com, is now requiring customers to disclose their bank account details so that the exchange may transfer them their balances in Turkish lira.

Many Turks have resorted to cryptocurrencies to retain money and hold value in the face of rampant inflation. The nation has also experienced several cryptocurrency frauds in recent years, with fraud investigations being opened against regional exchanges including the now-defunct Thodex. Following its demise, the insolvent FTX has been the subject of inquiries in both the Bahamas, where it maintains its headquarters, and the United States. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which has jurisdiction over the region, has declared that it is suspending the license it granted to FTX (EU), allowing the exchange to conduct business throughout the European Union.