Traces of "Iranians" in the money laundering case in Türkiye
Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 417 suspects in a money laundering investigation in Turkey. The detainees are accused of transferring half a billion dollars to banks outside the country.
Reuters news agency quoted the Turkish Attorney General as saying that this amount, equivalent to 2.5 billion Turkish liras, was transferred to more than "28,000" bank accounts in the United States since January 1, 2017, belonging to "Iranians in the United States."
Turkish media reports on nationwide police operations in various provinces, inspections of the assets of a number of individuals, and widespread arrests in the country.
As Reuters wrote, the news agency has not yet been able to obtain information from Turkish police and judicial authorities in this regard.
CNN Turk television reported, citing the Turkish Prosecutor's Office, that individuals in the country have been prosecuted for endangering Turkey's "financial and economic security."
In a statement from the Turkish prosecutor's office, the detainees were accused of setting up a money laundering gang with the aim of committing "crimes and felonies" and "violating laws against the financing of terrorism."
This is not the first time that Iranian and Turkish complicity in money laundering has been raised.
Previously, Reza Zarrab, an Iranian businessman residing in Turkey who was detained in Turkey for a while on charges of economic corruption, was convicted on charges including cooperating in the transfer of a gold shipment to Iran, illegally transferring money and currency through a Turkish government-owned bank, and paying bribes to close associates of government officials.
He was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in the United States on charges of circumventing sanctions against the Islamic Republic and violating United States laws in this regard.
Mr. Zarrab's other charges include conspiracy to defraud the US government, bank fraud, and money laundering.
In the Reza Zarrab case, the name of Mehmet Hakan Attila , a Turkish banker at the state-owned Halkbank, also appears, who was sentenced to 32 months in prison in a New York court on charges of violating Iran sanctions.
Mr. Hakan's defense team has said that he "became a victim of Reza Zarrab, the architect of this conspiracy," and that Zarrab, by admitting his "guilt," has cooperated with the US prosecutors in the hope of a reduced sentence.
Zarrab testified as a witness in Hakan's trial and said that senior Turkish officials were involved in Halkbank's violation of US sanctions against Iran, and that these actions were carried out with the approval of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a charge that Mr. Erdogan denies.
Source: Radio Farda
