ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Friday welcomed a decision by an international watchdog to remove it from a so-called “ gray list ” of countries that have not fully implemented measures to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
The announcement by the Financial Action Task Force in Singapore could bolster foreign investments in Turkey, which is trying to rebound from a deep economic downturn.
“We succeeded,” Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek wrote on the social media platform X, as the decision was being announced.
Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz said: “With this development, international investors’ confidence in our country’s financial system has become even stronger. The decision will have extremely positive consequences for the financial sector and the economy.”
Being on the watchdog’s gray list can scare away investors and creditors, hurting exports, output and consumption. It also can make global banks wary of doing business with a country.
FATF President T. Raja Kumar, who is finishing his two-year term, said Turkey was taken off the gray list because of the “substantial progress” that it has made.
Kumar said a FATF team visited Turkey in May and confirmed that the country had taken “substantive steps” to improve its anti-money laundering regime, addressing all the items in its action plan.
As examples he cited Turkey's complex investigations into and prosecutions of money laundering and terrorist financing. Turkey was placed on the list in 2021.
“We will with determination continue our fight against organized crime organizations, the traffickers of poison (drugs), the immigrant smuggling rings, the money-laundering criminal groups, and especially against the financing of terrorism and of those traitors,” Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X.
Jamaica was also removed from the gray list, while Monaco and Venezuela were added, Kumar said. The United Arab Emirates was taken off the list earlier this year.
FILE - Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek speaks during a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Turkey on Friday, June 28, 2024, welcomed a decision by an international watchdog to remove it from a so-called “gray list” of countries that have not fully implemented measures to fight money laundering and terrorism financing. “We succeeded,” Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek wrote on the social media platform X, as the decision was being announced. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
NHL free agency opens Monday, less than a week since Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers.
The offseason comes at you fast, and with all of it packed into a short period of time and more extra money to spend since before the pandemic, general managers are not quite sure what's to come when the free agent frenzy gets underway.
“It's going to be unpredictable, really," San Jose general manager Mike Grier said Saturday on NHL Network. “It’ll be interesting. Every team’s trying to get better, and there’s only so many seats at the table.”
Sixteen seats at the playoff table, but nearly all of the league's 32 teams will make a signing of some sort, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be committed to players this week. This summer marks the first big salary cap increase since 2019 — a $4.5 million bump to $88 million — and there is no shortage of top players who will cash in as part of a free agent class headlined by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Cup champion Patrick Kane.
More trades are also in the offing, after Detroit GM Steve Yzerman called some of the activity at the draft over the weekend “eye opening” and moves he didn't see coming.
“Every team’s got a little bit more cap space,” Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille said. "And we’re seeing where things are going to be (going up) in the next two or three years. We expect some movement, and it should be exciting.”
So much that at least a couple of teams' front offices are staying in Las Vegas following the draft to handle free agency from there. That includes the Washington Capitals, who have been one of the busiest teams lately, trading for center Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson among a bevy of moves.
“We’re retooling and adding prospects and competing,” GM Brian MacLellan said, adding he “maybe” has some more up his sleeve by way of trade or free agency, particularly to change up his defense. “We’re going to shop around and see what we can find.”
Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, fresh off helping the Panthers win their first title in franchise history, are among the experienced defensemen available, along with Brady Skjei, three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez and Sean Walker, a trade deadline pickup by Colorado. Brett Pesce, a longtime teammate of Skjei's with Carolina, has been linked to New Jersey after the Devils cleared room for him.
The pool of forward talent available is stronger, even if Sam Reinhart stays with Florida following his 57-goal season and Jake Guentzel signs with the Lightning after they acquired the high-scoring winger's rights. Kane alone, even at age 35, could have a half-dozen or more suitors after being nearly a point-a-game producer last season for Detroit, and a reunion with New York Rangers cannot be ruled out among his many options.
Similar interest should materialize for Marchessault, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights who is coming off scoring a career-best 42 goals. There may not be room left for him after the team added $6.7 million-a-year center Tomas Hertl and $7.35 million defenseman Noah Hanifin in March, though GM Kelly McCrimmon was unwilling in the big picture to speculate about how free agency will unfold.
“It’s not completely in any club’s control,” McCrimmon said. “We have a real good handle on what that market is, what that landscape is, what it looks like and we’ll make our decisions accordingly. But it takes two parties to come to an agreement, and free agency is free agency. You’re never quite sure. We’ll see what plays out.”
The goaltending market has been playing out for some time now, with the Devils acquiring Jacob Markstrom, the Kings getting Darcy Kuemper and Boston sending '23 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo and more. Plenty more teams need help in net, including Detroit and Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, joining the Capitals remaining in Vegas for the free agent festivities, are willing to roll the dice that they can find a solution.
“How concerned am I of the goalie market? Well, we’ll see what the goalie market is,” GM Brad Treliving said. “We’ve been poking around in it, and we know we’ve got to shore that up on our end but we’re confident that we can.”
AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow and freelancer writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos moves the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, March 23, 2024, in Los Angeles. Stamkos is still on course to become a free agent even after the Lightning cleared significant salary cap space with trades made at the NHL draft. General manager Julien BriseBois and agent Don Meehan independently confirmed their stances have not changed with respect to Stamkos signing a new contract with the club before free agency opens Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) skates with the puck as Buffalo Sabres' Owen Power (25) defends with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) in the second period of an NHL hockey game April 7, 2024, in Detroit. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Stanley Cup champion Kane. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - Vegas Golden Knights' Jonathan Marchessault controls the puck in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane and 2023 playoff MVP Marchessault. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
