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With Islamic State Clash Comes Greater Illicit Finance Risks for Turkey, Say Ex-Officials

By Kira Zalan

Turkey's vulnerability to illicit financiers has grown over the past year, in part due to its deepening economic relationship with Iran and turmoil along its southern border, say policy advocates. Seen as a gateway for Islamist fighters, arms and money, the republic's 559-mile border with Syria is "one of the top jurisdictions of illicit finance today," according to Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department now working with Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank. While Turkey has done a better job recently in enforcing border controls and airport screening, it remains "in...

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