A Turkish bank account can be blocked by the bank's own compliance hold, a MASAK suspension of up to seven working days (Article 19/A of Law No. 5549), a 48 hour suspension for online fraud under Article 128/A of Law No. 5271, a criminal seizure ordered by a judge under Article 128 (objection within two weeks, Article 268), an enforcement attachment under Law No. 2004 (complaint within seven days), a tax attachment under Law No. 6183 (tax court within 15 days) or a court interim measure. Ask the bank in writing for the legal ground and check e-Devlet and UYAP.
A blocked account in Türkiye rarely comes with an explanation: a card is declined, a transfer from abroad never arrives, or the app shows bloke, a block, next to the balance. For foreigners the trigger is often a property payment, transfers from foreign clients, a peer to peer crypto sale or an old debt. Since 25 December 2025, Article 128/A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 5271, also lets banks, payment service providers and crypto platforms suspend an account for up to 48 hours before any judge is involved. "Frozen" covers at least eight different measures, each with its own authority, deadline and remedy, so the first step is to find out which one applies.
The bank is usually carrying out someone else's order, and branch staff cannot lift it. Only a compliance hold is the bank's own decision.
| Type of Block | Who Orders It and the Remedy |
|---|---|
| Compliance hold or closure (section 2) | The bank, under know your customer rules and the account agreement; supply documents |
| MASAK transaction suspension (section 3) | The Minister of Treasury and Finance; seven working days at most |
| Terrorism or proliferation financing freeze (section 4) | The President, or two ministers with court approval; request to the Assessment Commission |
| 48 hour suspension (section 5.2) | The bank or platform; application to the chief public prosecutor, decided in 24 hours |
| Criminal seizure (section 5.1) | A judge, or a prosecutor in urgent cases subject to a judge; objection within two weeks |
| Enforcement attachment (section 6) | An enforcement office; complaint within seven days, objection or payment |
| Tax attachment (section 7) | A tax office or other public creditor; tax court action, payment or deferral |
| Court interim measures (section 8) | A civil court; objection within one week or seven days |
Article 3 of the Law on the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, Law No. 5549, requires banks to identify customers before transacting. Under the Regulation on Measures for the Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism, banks must check continuously that transactions match the customer's profession, finances and source of funds (Article 19), and must refuse a transaction, or end the relationship, where identity or the purpose of the relationship cannot be verified (Article 22). Typical triggers for foreigners are an expired residence permit or passport on file, transfers that do not fit the declared occupation, many small payments from strangers, crypto exchange transfers and a name resembling a sanctioned person. This is not a court order; it rests on these duties and on the account agreement, which in banking practice reserves the right to suspend or close.
If the bank has reported a suspicious transaction to MASAK, Article 4(2) of Law No. 5549 and Article 29 of the Regulation forbid it from telling anyone, including you, so "compliance reasons" may be all you hear. Court, enforcement and tax orders are different: in practice the bank names the authority and file number. To lift a hold, give the bank in writing a valid residence permit or passport, your tax number and documents explaining the money: sale contract and title deed, payslips, client invoices, exchange statements. These are largely the documents needed when opening a bank account as a foreigner. Closing an account does not entitle the bank to keep the balance; ask in writing for a transfer to another account in your name.
MASAK, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, is Türkiye's financial intelligence unit; our MASAK compliance guide explains its rules for banks. Under Article 19/A, where assets in a transaction are suspected of being linked to laundering or terrorist financing, the Minister of Treasury and Finance, or a deputy minister since the 2020 amendments made by the Law on the Prevention of the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Law No. 7262, may suspend the transaction or refuse to let it proceed for seven working days so that MASAK can analyse it or refer it to the authorities. A bank that ignores the suspension faces a fine equal to the transaction amount and at least 50,000 Turkish Lira, so branches make no exceptions.
After seven working days the money is released or the file goes to a prosecutor. Article 17 of Law No. 5549 allows seizure under Article 128 of Law No. 5271 on strong suspicion of laundering or terrorist financing, and under Article 17(2), as amended by Law No. 7262, a prosecutor may seize where delay is harmful: the order goes to a judge within 24 hours, the judge decides within 24 hours, and the value report must follow within three months or the order becomes void. A block lasting longer than seven working days therefore rests on something else, and you should ask what. Use the suspension to give the bank a full written source of funds file.
Under the Law on the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism, Law No. 6415, freezes implement UN Security Council lists by Presidential decision (Article 5), answer foreign requests (Article 6), or, under Article 7(3) added by Law No. 7262, are ordered jointly by the Ministers of Treasury and Finance and of the Interior against persons reasonably suspected of financing an organisation that the courts have finally found to be terrorist. That domestic freeze goes within 48 hours to an Ankara heavy penal court, which decides within five days; its decision can be challenged under Law No. 5271. Decisions are published in the Official Gazette and treated as served on publication (Article 11). Requests to lift go to the Assessment Commission (Article 7), and MASAK may permit payments for living costs, rent, wages and lawyer's fees (Article 13). Law No. 7262 itself applies the same system to UN proliferation lists (Article 3). A mere name match is a bank screening issue, resolved with identity documents.
Elkoyma, seizure in criminal proceedings, requires strong suspicion based on concrete evidence that a listed offence, such as theft, fraud, breach of trust, usury, embezzlement, bribery or drug trafficking, was committed and the assets came from it (Article 128). Identified assets can be seized even when held by someone other than the suspect. A report on the value obtained, from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, the Capital Markets Board or MASAK as relevant, is required within three months, extendable by two. Only a judge may order the seizure (Article 128(9)); in the investigation the prosecutor applies to the sulh ceza hâkimliği, the criminal judgeship of peace (Article 162). Transactions aimed at defeating the order are void.
Added by Law No. 7571 and in force since 25 December 2025, Article 128/A applies where there is reasonable suspicion of theft through information systems, fraud using information systems or banks or by posing as an official or bank employee, or misuse of bank cards (Articles 142(2)(e), 158(1)(f) and (l), and 245 of the Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5237). The bank, payment service provider or crypto asset service provider may suspend the account used for up to 48 hours, must notify the chief public prosecutor's office and the account holder, and the holder may apply to that office, which decides within 24 hours. A seizure within the 48 hours needs a judge or, in urgent cases, a prosecutor's written order, which goes to a judge within 24 hours and lapses unless the judge rules within 48 hours of the seizure. Money belonging to the victim may be returned during the case, and the institution bears no civil liability for the suspension. The usual foreign victim is a peer to peer crypto or currency seller paid from a defrauded account: apply at once with the order record, chats and proof of delivery. If you were the one defrauded, see our guide on filing a fraud complaint in Türkiye.
Under Article 268, an objection is filed within two weeks of learning of the decision with the judgeship that issued it; the period was seven days until Law No. 7499 changed it from 1 June 2024. If not corrected, it goes within three days to the next criminal judgeship of peace. Grounds include no concrete evidence, an offence outside the list, no value report, seizure beyond the alleged benefit and a documented lawful source. Your lawyer may examine the file (Article 153) unless access is restricted, which is allowed only for certain serious offences. Never let anyone use your card or account: since 16 July 2026, Article 158(4) of the Penal Code halves the penalty where a person's part in a fraud was limited to handing over a card or account access, which confirms that doing so is punishable.
A card issuer, phone operator, landlord or former partner starts proceedings at an icra dairesi, an enforcement office, under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, Law No. 2004. The debtor has seven days from the ödeme emri, the payment order, to object (Article 62), or five days for cheques and bills (Article 168). Afterwards the creditor can trace assets through UYAP, the judiciary information system, and attach them electronically (Article 78). A garnishment notice served on a bank's head office covers all branches (Article 89), but no more than principal, interest and costs may be attached (Article 85). Foreigners often learn of the file only now, because the order went to an old address. The bank will name the office and file number; you can also check "İcra Dosyası Sorgulama" on e-Devlet or the UYAP Citizen Portal. Foreigners get an e-Devlet password at PTT offices with a residence permit showing the foreigner identity number.
A şikayet, complaint, goes to the enforcement court within seven days of learning of the act (Article 16), for example where attachment came before the order was final, exceeded Article 85 or hit protected income. If the order was not served properly, Article 32 of the Notification Law, Law No. 7201, treats the date you learned of it as the date of service, so the objection period runs from then; an objection must give an address in Türkiye (Article 62). A debt you do not owe can be contested by a negative declaration action, and money paid but not owed reclaimed within one year (Article 72). Payment or an instalment agreement at the office releases the account fastest. See our article on debt collection and enforcement.
Article 82 protects items such as student scholarships and compensation for bodily injury. Salaries, wages and pensions can be attached only after leaving what the officer considers necessary for the family, although at least one quarter may be taken (Article 83). Pensions under the Social Security and General Health Insurance Law, Law No. 5510, cannot be attached except for social security debts and maintenance (Article 93). Prove with payslips or statements that the money is salary or pension.
The Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables, Law No. 6183, covers taxes, fees, fines and other public receivables of the State and municipalities (Article 1), including final administrative fines payable to the budget (Article 17(4) of the Law on Misdemeanours, Law No. 5326). The payment order requires payment or a declaration of assets within 15 days (Article 55). The collection office then attaches enough to cover the debt (Article 62), by notice to bank branches or head offices, which may be electronic (Article 79). Check "Banka Hesaplarına Uygulanan Elektronik Haciz Sorgulama" and "Vergi Borcu Sorgulama ve Ödeme" on e-Devlet. Typical causes are unpaid property tax, undeclared rental income and traffic fines.
A claim that the debt does not exist, was paid or is time barred must be raised within 15 days of service (Article 58); the article still names the old objection commissions, but their powers passed to the tax courts under Article 6 of the Law on Regional Administrative Courts, Administrative Courts and Tax Courts, Law No. 2576. The attachment itself can be challenged in the tax court within 30 days (Article 7 of the Administrative Judicial Procedure Law, Law No. 2577). Between one quarter and one third of a salary may be attached, and no more than one tenth of income up to the minimum wage (Article 71). Where payment would cause serious hardship, the debt can be deferred on written request for up to 72 months with interest, against security above a threshold (Article 48). A tax office may impose ihtiyati haciz, precautionary attachment, if the debtor has no fixed residence or may flee (Article 13), which affects foreigners leaving Türkiye; it can be challenged within 15 days (Article 15) and is lifted against security (Article 16). Our tax law services handle these disputes.
A creditor can freeze an account before winning. Precautionary attachment under Article 257 of Law No. 2004 covers a matured unsecured money debt, or an unmatured one if the debtor has no fixed domicile or is hiding assets. The creditor must give security unless the claim rests on a judgment, and is liable if the attachment proves unjustified (Article 259). It lapses unless execution is requested within ten days (Article 261) and, if obtained before any case, enforcement or a lawsuit follows within seven days (Article 264). A debtor not heard may object within seven days of execution or of service of the report (Article 265). İhtiyati tedbir, an interim injunction under Article 389 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100, is used where the dispute concerns the money itself, as in inheritance or partnership cases; if it was granted without hearing you, objection is within one week (Article 394), and an injunction granted before a lawsuit lapses if the main action is not filed within two weeks (Article 397). Missed creditor deadlines are often the fastest route to release.
Our bank account services cover both new accounts and restrictions on existing ones.
A property buyer whose transfer is held needs the sale contract and SWIFT record; a remote worker paid by foreign clients needs contracts and invoices; a crypto user blocked after a peer to peer sale must act within hours (see cryptocurrency law in Türkiye); a former resident often returns to an enforcement file over an unpaid card. A lawyer identifies the measure through UYAP, files the right remedy in time and prepares the source of funds file. Our banking and finance law team acts for clients in and outside Türkiye, though release dates depend on the court or office.
Yes, through its own compliance hold or a suspension of up to 48 hours under Article 128/A. A longer seizure needs a judge, or a prosecutor in urgent cases confirmed by a judge.
Seven working days under Article 19/A of Law No. 5549. A longer block rests on another measure.
If it reported a suspicious transaction, Article 4(2) of Law No. 5549 forbids disclosure. Court, enforcement and tax orders are normally disclosed.
Two weeks from learning of the decision, under Article 268 of Law No. 5271.
Apply to the chief public prosecutor's office within the 48 hours with proof of the trade; the prosecutor decides within 24 hours.
No. Article 83 of Law No. 2004 leaves a subsistence amount, though at least one quarter may be attached.
Pensions under Law No. 5510 are protected except for social security debts and maintenance. A pension from abroad is outside that rule, so the general limit in Article 83 of Law No. 2004 applies.
It can, since the notice may reach the bank's head office (Article 79 of Law No. 6183), but only up to the debt.
By an action in the tax court within 15 days of service, under Article 58 of Law No. 6183.
Yes, by precautionary attachment under Article 257 of Law No. 2004; if you were not heard, you may object within seven days (Article 265).
Not for a suspension under Article 128/A or for obeying an official order. A claim may arise if it keeps your money with no legal or contractual ground.
Yes for enforcement and tax attachments, once the office notifies the bank; not for a criminal seizure.
Yes, through a Turkish lawyer holding your power of attorney, who can check UYAP and file objections.
A frozen Turkish account may result from a bank compliance hold, a MASAK suspension of up to seven working days, a terrorism financing freeze, a criminal seizure under Articles 128 or 128/A of Law No. 5271, an enforcement attachment, a tax attachment or a court measure. Each has its own authority and deadline, from 48 hours to two weeks, and the fastest results come from identifying the measure in writing, checking e-Devlet and UYAP and documenting the source of funds.
If your account, card or transfer is blocked and the bank will not explain why, we can identify the measure, meet the deadline and prepare the documents for release. To review your case, contact our legal team.
