Wednesday, October 16, 2019

State-Owned Turkish Bank Halkbank Charged In $20B Scheme To Skirt US Sanctions On Iran


DW: US charges Turkey's Halkbank with violating Iran sanctions

The US accused high-ranking government officials in both Iran and Turkey of participating in and protecting the scheme. It comes as NATO allies Washington and Ankara are at odds over Turkey's military offensive in Syria.

US prosecutors on Tuesday filed criminal charges against Turkey's state-run Halkbank for allegedly taking part in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade sanctions on Iran.

The indictment is the latest development in a years-long criminal case that began with the arrest of Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader accused of playing a key role in the sanctions evasion scheme.

Zarrab pleaded guilty and testified at the trial of a Halkbank deputy general manager. He told authorities that Iran was getting around US sanctions through a complicated scheme involving gold transactions with the help of the bank and the Turkish government.

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WNU Editor: Halkbank is the 7th largest bank in Turkey with millions of customers. Any U.S. action against Halkbank will have damaging consequences on the Turkish economy.

More News On State-Owned Turkish Bank Halkbank Charged In A $20B Scheme To Skirt US Sanctions On Iran

US prosecutors accuse Turkey's Halkbank of evading Iran sanctions -- Al Jazeera
Turkish bank charged in $20B scheme to skirt US sanctions on Iran -- FOX News
Turkish state bank funneled billions to Iran, U.S. charges say -- UPI
U.S. charges state-owned Turkish bank in multibillion-dollar sanctions-busting scheme -- NBC
U.S. prosecutors accuse Turkey's Halkbank of scheme to evade Iran sanctions -- Reuters

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