Turkish gold trader implicates Erdogan in Iran money laundering | World Defense

Turkish gold trader implicates Erdogan in Iran money laundering

Scorpion

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Turkish gold trader implicates Erdogan in Iran money laundering



(Reuters) - A Turkish-Iranian gold trader on Thursday told jurors in a New York federal court that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan authorized a transaction in a scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions


Reza Zarrab is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors in the criminal trial of a Turkish bank executive accused of helping to launder money for Iran. At the time of the alleged conspiracy, Erdogan was Turkey’s prime minister.

Zarrab said he had learned from Zafer Caglayan, who was Turkey’s economy minister, that Erdogan and then-treasury minister Ali Babacan had authorized two Turkish banks, Ziraat Bank and VakifBank, to move funds for Iran.

Ziraat denied taking part in the scheme. VakifBank could not immediately be reached for comment.

Neither Erdogan nor his representatives had any immediate comment on Zarrab’s accusation that he authorized such transactions. Erdogan said earlier on Thursday that Turkey did not violate U.S. sanctions, CNN Turk reported. A spokesman for Erdogan’s government has called the case a “plot against Turkey.”

The testimony came on the third day of the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank, who has pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court.


U.S. prosecutors have charged nine people in the case with conspiring to help Iran evade sanctions, although only Zarrab, 34, and Atilla, 47, have been arrested by U.S. authorities.

Over two days of testimony, Zarrab has told jurors that he helped Iran use funds deposited at Halkbank to buy gold, which was smuggled to Dubai and sold for cash. On Thursday, he said that he had to stop the gold trades and start moving money through fake food purchases instead in 2013, after U.S. sanctions changed.

Zarrab has said that Atilla helped design the gold transactions, along with Halkbank’s former general manager, Suleyman Aslan.

On Thursday, Zarrab discussed a 2013 phone call with Atilla about his plan to switch from gold trades to fake food sales. He said Atilla did not understand at the time that no actual food would be sent to Iran, and was reluctant to sign off on the plan.

Zarrab said Aslan ordered Atilla to allow the transaction.

Zarrab has testified that in the course of his scheme, he bribed Aslan and former Turkish economy minister Zafer Caglayan.

Both Caglayan and Aslan were charged in the case. Turkey’s government has previously said that Caglayan acted lawfully, and Halkbank has said it acted lawfully as well.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...rdogan-in-iran-money-laundering-idUSKBN1DU23B
 

T-123456

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@T-123456 how credible is this news? If true then Erdogan is dragging Turkey into a dark hole.
People who know me,know what i think about Erdogan and his gang of religion abusers.
And to answer your question,since he came into power,he was dragging my country into a darker hole then Hell.
We predicted this six months before he came into power.
 

Lieutenant

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People who know me,know what i think about Erdogan and his gang of religion abusers.
And to answer your question,since he came into power,he was dragging my country into a darker hole then Hell.
We predicted this six months before he came into power.
When is the next election?
 

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Erdogan, Duterte, Modi and Trump. Otherwise known to friends and family as Death, Famine, War and Conquest.
 

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Joe Shearer

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Im having this feeling that he will get elected once again. Do you guys the four years policy or it goes for ever?

Fortunately, four years (if you are referring to India; in the present case, you are referring to Turkey).

But the pessimistic money is on his winning a second, greatly weakened term, and doing the maximum damage to institutions in that spell. As it is, the Army and the Supreme Court are compromised; most of us have not seen the second happen, but it has happened. The Election Commission fell a while ago. The Reserve Bank was among the first.

There is a school of thought that the bureaucracy is quietly in revolt. That remains to be seen.

@jbgt90
 

UAE

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Fortunately, four years (if you are referring to India; in the present case, you are referring to Turkey).

But the pessimistic money is on his winning a second, greatly weakened term, and doing the maximum damage to institutions in that spell. As it is, the Army and the Supreme Court are compromised; most of us have not seen the second happen, but it has happened. The Election Commission fell a while ago. The Reserve Bank was among the first.

There is a school of thought that the bureaucracy is quietly in revolt. That remains to be seen.

@jbgt90

You guys need another civil disobedience inspired by Mahatma Gandhi movement to make "India incredible again". Im of the type that the definition of a democrat governing should be abolished and re-constructed again.
 

Joe Shearer

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You guys need another civil disobedience inspired by Mahatma Gandhi movement to make "India incredible again". Im of the type that the definition of a democrat governing should be abolished and re-constructed again.

It's looking increasingly like that, but the cannon fodder that Gandhi had is no longer available. Nor does Gandhi show signs of emerging soon.
 

UAE

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It's looking increasingly like that, but the cannon fodder that Gandhi had is no longer available. Nor does Gandhi show signs of emerging soon.

The issue is that those who take power try to remain in power for longest possible. They pass legislations doing this and that to protect their own party with no regard to the public.
 

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