Weaponizing Financial Systems Erdoğan's Transnational Repression to Muzzle Dissidents Abroad

Executive Summary

Members of the Gülen Movement and Kurds are the two most prominent groups facing transnational repression by the Erdoğan administration. The government continues its persecution with a deprivation policy, cancelling passports and occupational licenses, freezing or seizing assets, stripping individuals of their vested pension entitlements, and marking their social security records with their alleged "terrorist" affiliation.

The Erdoğan administration has employed a range of repressive tactics to silence dissent. These measures include abductions, enforced disappearances, and extraditions, often through controversial and extrajudicial means, as well as utilization of international and bilateral mechanisms to distress them and tarnish their reputation.

Anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regulation is one of the mechanisms exploited by the Erdoğan government. Part of these checks are performed under Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) protocols, which include watchlist screenings. By feeding false, manipulated, and politically biased information about critics into these lists, the Erdoğan government prompts financial institutions to label these individuals as "risky."

By manipulating open-source platforms, asset-freeze orders, INTERPOL systems, and directly influencing banks, the Erdoğan government has weaponized financial services and international cooperation to suppress opposition and dissent. The experiences of victims underscore the systemic discrimination and marginalization perpetuated by governmental directives and risk-averse financial institutions.

The repression against Erdoğan's dissidents is significantly amplified by the integration of AI systems. When AI systems are fed biased or false data, particularly from authoritarian regimes like Erdoğan's, they can perpetuate and exacerbate these biases. Dissidents can be unfairly labeled as high-risk customers based on manipulated data, leading to unjust account closures and financial exclusion.

Financial data providers, whose information banks rely on for risk assessments, often disseminate inaccurate or politically motivated data. This not only results in financial discrimination but also furthers the victimization of individuals targeted by regimes for their political beliefs. Despite regulatory frameworks like the GDPR and the upcoming AI Act, significant gaps in compliance and accountability persist.

As these manipulative practices of the Erdoğan administration and likeminded governments continue, there is an urgent need for robust safeguards and increased scrutiny within financial institutions to protect the integrity of personal data usage and uphold the rights of individuals against authoritarian misuse.