"Leijdekkers" and "Comanchero" details! These two operations have removed Turkey from the grey list.

The efforts carried out by Turkey in the fight against terrorism financing and money laundering have yielded results, leading to its removal from the "grey list" by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

TURKEY CITES TWO OPERATIONS AS EXAMPLES TO BE REMOVED FROM THE GREY LIST

According to sources from the Ministry of Interior, two operations targeting organized crime groups were highlighted as examples during the meetings between the FATF delegation and Turkey regarding the "grey list".

"LEIJDEKKERS OPERATION, A PROACTIVE AND COMPLEX MONEY LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION"

The "Leijdekkers Operation" was presented as a case study during the Review Meeting held in Tirana, the capital of Albania, on September 1, 2023, between Turkish officials and the FATF delegation. The operation was evaluated by the FATF delegation as a "proactive, complex, and rare money laundering investigation".

"COMANCHERO OPERATION, A RARE AND LARGE-SCALE INVESTIGATION FILE"

During the second meeting held in Ankara on May 3, 2024, the "Comanchero Operation" was presented as a case study. The FATF representatives described this operation as a "rare and large-scale investigation file" and praised it as "exciting and commendable".

"TURKEY'S EFFORTS ARE CONSIDERED SUFFICIENT"

The representatives emphasized that the "Comanchero Operation" was a multidimensional money laundering investigation and expressed satisfaction with the high-level cooperation with international stakeholders, including Australia, as well as the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) in Turkey. The "FATF Assessment Report" prepared after the meetings found Turkey's efforts in combating money laundering to be sufficient.

MINISTER YERLİKAYA: "WE WILL CONTINUE OUR STRUGGLE WITH DETERMINATION"

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya thanked everyone who contributed to Turkey's removal from the "grey list" and emphasized that Turkey will continue its fight against terrorism financing, organized crime groups, drug traffickers, human trafficking organizers, and money laundering centers with determination.

LEIJDEKKERS OPERATION

In June 2023, 34 individuals, including Joseph Johannes Leijdekkers, also known as "Bello Jos," who was wanted by the Netherlands, France, and Belgium through a red notice, were arrested by the Istanbul Provincial Police Department in operations coordinated with the Narcotics Department and in collaboration with MASAK. Approximately 1.1 billion Turkish lira worth of assets belonging to the suspects were also seized during the operations.

In addition, Eric Schroeder, the leader of the organized crime group who was found to be involved in money laundering activities in Europe and was wanted through a red notice, was captured in the "Kafes-25" operation in Istanbul on December 27, 2023.

COMANCHERO OPERATION

The international armed organized crime group "Comanchero" based in Austria was dismantled in the Cage Operation on November 2, 2023. It was determined that the armed organized crime group, led by Mark Douglas Buddle following the murder of Mick Hawi in 2018, continued to engage in international drug trafficking, murder, armed robbery, arson, kidnapping, and money laundering crimes.

The leader of the organization, Buddle, was captured in Northern Cyprus in 2022 and handed over to Australian authorities, while it was found that Hakan Ayık and Duax Hohepa Ngakuru, other leaders of the organization, took over its management and continued their criminal activities.