What Is a Rented Account? How Are Rented Accounts Detected? The MASAK Guide and the Measures Banks Will Take

A rented account (also known as account renting or IBAN renting) is a bank, payment or crypto account opened in the name of a person or company but actually used by someone else, most often to move the proceeds of crime. On 12 October 2026, MASAK published the “Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide on Combating Rented Accounts”. The guide expects obliged parties not only to report suspicious transactions but also to assess who actually controls the account and who its beneficial owner is, and to take preventive measures according to risk.

In this article, we at Datateam summarise what the guide means for compliance teams, which indicators to look for and how measures should be graduated.

IBAN Renting and Network Analytics

In the video, we explain how IBAN renting works and why catching these structures means looking not just at the account but at the network it sits in. The details of the guide, the risk indicators and the measures are below.

What Is a Rented Account?

What defines a rented account is not whose name it was opened in, but who actually uses it and for what purpose. More often than not, there is no complex financial engineering involved, just a simple offer such as “Let us use your account for a day and we’ll give you 5,000 TL.” An account can be rented out for money, or it can pass into someone else’s control as a favour asked through friendship, family or business ties.

Control of an account can be handed over in different ways:

• Sharing the IBAN and transferring incoming funds on someone else’s instructions.
• Handing over mobile banking passwords, bank cards and card PINs.
• Passing a phone line or one-time verification codes (SMS OTP) to third parties.
• Using shell companies and their POS, virtual POS and commercial accounts as collection infrastructure.

Rented accounts are most commonly seen in illegal betting and gambling, fraud and money laundering. The guide also covers uses such as drug offences, terrorist financing, evasion of targeted financial sanctions and hawala.

Simply sharing an IBAN or receiving money from someone else does not, on its own, amount to rented account use or a crime. The assessment considers the purpose of the transaction, the relationship between the parties and actual control of the account together.

Risk Indicators of a Rented Account

Indicators do not on their own show that a crime has been committed or that a report is required in every case; they are assessed together with the full facts of the case. The indicators compliance teams will most often encounter are:

Measures Financial Institutions Will Take

The guide does not call for an account to be closed automatically on every suspicious transfer. Measures are chosen in a graduated way, according to the characteristics of the transaction and the level of risk:

• Request for information and documents: The customer is asked to explain the purpose of the transaction and the source of funds.
• Close monitoring: The account and its connected accounts are monitored more frequently.
• Limit measures: Limits are placed on transaction amounts and counts, and transfer limits are lowered.
• Channel restriction: Mobile and internet banking access is limited or closed; bank card, POS and virtual POS services are suspended.
• No new products: The customer is not offered new financial products.
• Ending the relationship: If the risk cannot be contained, explanations are insufficient or it becomes clear that the account is managed by others, the transaction is not carried out and the customer relationship is terminated.

At banks with branches, a customer whose digital access is restricted can continue to access basic services at a branch in a controlled way. At institutions that serve only through digital channels, measures must be applied gradually, with regard to the customer’s access to their assets.

Throughout all these steps, the confidentiality of the suspicious transaction report must be protected: communication with the customer must not imply that a report has been filed. For details of the STR process, see our article What Is a MASAK Suspicious Transaction Report (STR)?

Consequences for the Account Holder

A person who lets someone else use their account can unknowingly become a link in a chain that moves the proceeds of crime. The first and most tangible consequence is on the banking side: mobile banking access being closed, cards being stopped, limits being lowered and, eventually, the relationship with the bank coming to an end.

The guide also stresses that risk indicators or breaches of administrative obligations do not on their own give rise to criminal liability. The legal assessment of possible offences is made on the full facts of the case, taking into account the person’s knowledge and intent. This is why it matters that institutions use language in customer communication that asks for an explanation and explains the risk, rather than accusing.

Detecting Rented Accounts Early: Data and Technology

Looked at one by one, rented accounts often appear innocent; the risk emerges in the connections between accounts. Meeting the guide’s expectation to “examine connected accounts as a whole” with manual methods is practically impossible at institutions with high transaction volumes. The domestic solutions we develop at Datateam respond to this need as follows:

• Datactive AML & KYC: Assesses individual transaction scenarios together with behavioural and relationship patterns. The scenario module, network analytics and relational analysis make connected movements visible; findings are reviewed in case management processes and decision steps are recorded.
• Datactive Fraud & Risk: Helps detect fraud and rented account patterns early, including signals such as accounts managed from the same device or connection.
• DataSentinel: Uses Turkish Trade Registry Gazette data to reveal shareholding and management relationships between companies; speeds up shell company and beneficial ownership research.
• Datactive Sanctions & PEP Screening: Screens connected parties against sanctions lists, PEP and adverse media sources.

Don’t stop at examining a single account; see the network and trace the laundering chain. The goal is not to leave the decision to the system, but to enable the compliance officer to see connected risk and take the right measure on time, with a documented rationale.