Umut Balci
Senior Associate, Attorney at Law
Umut Balcı is an attorney and researcher. He is a legal professional with over 6 years of progressive experience in Turkiye, Germany and Canada.
His area of practice includes both national and international financial regulations, contract managing and drafting, payments law, financial technologies and CBDCs as well as corporate law and criminal law.
In addition to his work, during 2022 - 2023, he maintained his PhD. dissertation research as a visiting scholar at the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis and York University Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He was a recipient of the Study in Canada Scholarships by Global Affairs Canada and Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council.
In terms of his academic background, he studied law at the Ankara University Faculty of Law. He spent a year at the University of Mannheim (Germany) School of Law and Economics as an Erasmus scholar during his undergraduate studies. He granted a LLM degree on Public Law also from Ankara University Faculty of Law. In 2026 he earned his is PhD. Degree on Public Law at the Hacettepe University Faculty of Law.
He is admitted to the Ankara Bar Association. He speaks English and Turkish fluently and is a basic user of German.
Education:
2011 -2015, Bachelor Degree, Ankara University Faculty of Law2012 -2013, ERASMUS exchange student - University of Mannheim School of Law & Economics, Mannheim (Germany)2016 -2019, Ankara University Graduate School of Social Sciences Public Law – Department of Criminal and Criminal Procedure Law LL.M. Programme2020 -2026, Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences Public LawLanguages:
EnglishSwedishTurkishIndustries
Banking & Finance
Experience
- 01.09.2023 – 01.06.2024 : Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye – Legal Counsel
- 05.12.2017 – 31.08.2023 : Central Bank of the Republic of Turkiye –Attorney at Law
- 24.12.2022 – 24.03.2023 : University of Minnesota Law School (Minneapolis/USA) – Visiting Scholar
- 1.09.2022 – 24.12.2022 : York University Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto/Canada) – Visiting Research Fellow (Study in Canada Scholarships – Global Affairs Canada)
- 1.6.2017 – 1.8.2017 :Salan&Coll. Rechtsanwälte (Mannheim/Germany) - Erasmus+ Internship
Licenses:
- August 2023: Proliferation Finance Signatures Analysis – US Department of State
- June 2019 : 18th Regional Payment Systems Workshop – Bank for International Settlements
- October 2018: 8th International Seminar on Legal Aspects of Central Banking: Dynamics in Monetary Law – Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (Organisation Committee)
- May 2018 : Legal Framework for Central Banking – Joint Vienna Institute (IMF)
- June 2016 : Legal English Certificate Program for Lawyers – The Research Institute of Banking and Commercial Law
Publications:
- Criminal Law Dimension of Cryptocurrencies and Their Possible Place of Regulation In Turkish Legislation – Turkey – Union of Turkish Bar Associations Review, I.155, Vol. July – August, Y. 2021, pp. 203 – 259.
- A Possible Criminal Regulatory Approach to Crypto Assets – UK – Global South Dialogue on Economic Crime Symposium – University of Warwick, Coventry UK Scarman Conference Center 17-19 January 2024.