Türkiye was on the FATF grey list from October 2021 and was removed in June 2024. That period brought the sharpest tightening of banking procedures, and delisting has not returned practice to where it was.

"My money is blocked" describes three different things

• A suspended transaction. A decision by the financial intelligence unit to hold a transaction briefly while a suspicion is checked. The period is capped by statute.
• Seized assets. A judicial procedure within criminal proceedings, subject to strict time limits. Missing them causes the prosecutor's decision to lapse — a workable basis for releasing the assets.
• A bank decision. Refusal of service or account closure under the bank's own policies. This is a dispute with a private company, not judicial review of a state decision, and the strategy is fundamentally different.

Establishing what actually happened is the first step on any such instruction. Both the deadline and the forum depend on it.

There is no point asking the bank

The law expressly prohibits staff from disclosing that a suspicious transaction report has been filed to anyone, including the customer, and makes breach a criminal offence. Demanding such an answer is futile and puts the employee in an impossible position.

Cash at the border

The duty to give a full and accurate explanation about the money you are carrying is triggered by the customs authority's request. On refusal or an inaccurate explanation the values are taken into custody, a fine of one tenth of the amount carried is imposed, and the case is treated as suspicious and referred to the financial intelligence unit. The difference between "nobody asked me" and "I was asked and answered incompletely" is decisive.

Transacting for someone else

If you act in your own name but in substance for the benefit and account of another person, you must notify this in writing before the transaction. Failure is not a regulatory slip but a criminal offence. Every nominee account arrangement falls within this.

What to prepare in advance

The documentary chain showing where the funds came from is assembled before the transfer, not after the block: contracts and income statements, proof that tax was paid where the money arose, statements with no gaps in the chain, documents on the transaction the payment serves, translations and, where required, an apostille.