What is MASAK and why does it affect account opening?

MASAK (Mali Suçları Araştırma Kurulu) is Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board, equivalent to FinCEN in the US. Banks are required by MASAK regulations to perform KYC (Know Your Customer) checks on all corporate clients, including verifying the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO). Companies with complex offshore ownership structures or from FATF high-risk jurisdictions face additional scrutiny.