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Compliance

Brief information of Akbank T.A.S.

Akbank T.A.S. was established on 30 January 1948 as a private commercial bank, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers, No.3/6710 and is authorized to perform all economic, financial and commercial activities which are allowed by the laws of the Turkish Republic (“T.C.”).

It is authorised and regulated by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

Akbank T.A.S.’s branches and subsidiaries trade as Akbank T.A.S. Malta Branch and Akbank AG. Akbank T.A.S.’s foreign subsidiaries must comply with the regulations of the host country’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. Each of the Akbank’s foreign subsidiaries has its own compliance declaration which is available on request.

Legal and regulatory framework in Turkey

The utilization of the financial system to launder money resulting from crimes is a criminal offence in Turkey. Fight against laundering proceeds of crime and combating of financing of terrorism essentially conducted by Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which is a main service unit of Ministry of Finance and is directly attached to Ministry of Finance.

The principal requirements, obligations and penalties are contained in:

Scope

The structures of Akbank T.A.S.'s AML/ KYC Standards policy are:

Complying with AML (Anti- Money Laundering) and CFT (Combating Financing of Terrorism) laws and regulations such as; local laws (Turkish AML Act and Criminal Act) and regulatory guidance, U.N. Security Council Resolutions, EU Directives, USA Patriot Act.
Recommendations made by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Standards on AML and CFT standarts and Application Methodology Criteria, NCCT Reports.
Evaluating KYC (Know Your Customer) principles and customer identification regulations such as; Basel Principles (Customer due Diligence for Banks), Wofsberg Principles, TBA Local Industry Guidance/ Best Practices.

The objectives of the Policy are;

to comply with the obligations regarding the prevention of laundering proceeds of crime and financing of terrorism,
to determine our strategies to mitigate potential risks, our internal controls and measures, operating rules,
responsibilities through a risk-based evaluation of our customers, transactions, products and services,
to develop awareness in our existing and new employees on the matters herein mentioned.

AML/CFT program and applications

Akbank T.A.S instituted appropriate procedures for controlling activities to comply with all applicable laws and regulation in Turkey and international standards for the need to have adequate systems and controls in place to mitigate the risk of the firm being used to facilitate financial crime. Akbank T.A.S.'s AML/CFT Program includes;

A designated AML Compliance Officer,
Written policies, procedures and guidelines,
Risk based controls, including AML software program that monitors ongoing transactions, account activites of customers and screens existing and prospective customers for AML and CFT purposes,
Procedures for reporting suspicious activity internally and to relevant law enforcement authority,
Record keeping according to local laws,
Training,
The internal audit operations and independent audit testing.

Sanctions policy

Akbank is committed to compliance with relevant economic and trade sanctions laws in all jurisdictions in which it operates through identifying, mitigating and managing the risk. This Policy applies to all countries and/or jurisdictions in which Akbank operates and extends to any additional countries and/or jurisdictions where Akbank commences operations and/or has an active registration or license.

All Akbank Group domestic and international, branches and subsidiaries must to comply with all applicable sanctions laws and regulations published by below authorities. United Nations, US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) etc.

All employees receive training on International Sanctions Regulations annually. Related training given by Akbank’s compliance team.

All Policy incidents and breaches must be reported to the Group Compliance Officer.

Customer acceptance policy

The policy contents the required principles of Know Your Customer Procedures according to national and international regulations to comply with prevention of money laundering and combating financing of terrorism.

Akbank KYC obligations include;

Identification when;

Accepting or delivering cash,
Establishment of the ultimate beneficiary,
Making and keeping records,
Internal security measures,
Opening account/establishment customer relationship.

For individuals

Require the official documents,
ID number

For corporations and other legal entities

Customer's name, legal form, address, directors, shareholders,
The corporate by laws, powers of attorney and other reliable identifying information,
Tax number

According to our Bank’s policy, the persons and entities non-eligible for acceptance as a customer are as listed below:

Prospective customers refraining from giving information and documents or being recorded; and
Persons or entities whose final beneficiary / beneficiaries cannot be identified; and
Prospective customers wishing to open an account with anonym names or nicknames or pseudonyms; and
Prospective customers who fail to give satisfactory information about their banking transactions or sources of money; and
Persons or entities named in sanction or embargo lists of (UN, EU, USA or others); and
Persons or entities who are legally notified by official bodies and authorities and are recorded in the Bank’s Internal Intelligence System as subjects non-eligible for establishment of business relations; and
Shell Banks; and
Shelf and Shell Companies; and
Trusts.

High Risk Products and Services

Transactions affected with risky countries, and
Foreign money transfers of high amounts, and
Cash depositing and withdrawal transactions in high amounts, and
Complicated and extraordinary transactions, and
Products and services which are not consistent to the customer’s profession or fields of activity, risk profile and fund sources, and
Services which may become exposed to fraud due to newly introduced products and technologic developments, and
Transactions executed by using systems allowing non-face-to-face transactions.

High Risk Customers

Certain kinds of businesses may require EDD at account opening transaction review. Identified as high-risk include:

Non-profit-oriented Organizations,
Off-Shore Banks and Institutions,
Companies Founded in Risky Territories and Countries,
Risky Country Citizens,
Workplaces with Intensive Cash Use,
Private Banking Customers,
Correspondent Banks,
Non-Bank Financial Institutions,
Payment and Electronic Money Institutions,
Betting Companies,
Antique / Precious Metals Sector,
Vocational Professionals (Lawyers, Notaries Public, Certified Public Accountants/ Financial Advisors)
Firms engaged and operating in Blockchain and Fintech sectors,
Politically Exposed Persons (PEP),
Embassies and Consulates,
Logistics Companies engaged in Ship, Combined and Land Transportation,
Defence Industry and Weapon Industry Firms,
Intermediary Companies (Leasing, Factoring, etc.),
Companies issuing Bearer Shares,
Credit / Building Cooperatives,
Companies Offering Cryptoasset Services and
Saving Finance Companies.

High Risk Countries and Regions

Tax heavens (according to OECD and FATF criteria);
Countries subject to a full or partial embargo by EU;
Countries subject to a full or partial embargo by OFAC (United States, Department of Treasury);
Countries and regions included in the list of countries and regions which do not enter into cooperation with FATF (Financial Action Task Force); and
Countries named in FINCEN (United States, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) list.

Training

Training activities are carried out in order to improve existing and new employees’s the knowledge of the Akbank’s products and services may be used to facilitate money laundering or terrorist financing and awareness of their legal obligations.