28 Mar 2024
Saturday 1 April 2017 - 12:27
Story Code : 255694

Ankara refutes US claims of Turkish bank violating sanctions on Iran

Sputnik News- Halkbank, a state-owned Turkish bank, did not break national or international law, nor did it violate the United Nations policy of sanctions against Iran, Mehmet Simsek, the deputy prime minister of Turkey said Friday commenting on the detention of its Deputy CEO Mehmet Hakan Atilla in the United States.





ANKARA (Sputnik) On Monday, Atilla was arrested atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport onsuspicion ofa secret deal aimed atsending money toIran, an act which violates international sanctions.
Halkbank did not violate national or international law, it did not act contrary tothe UN sanctions [against Iran]. Turkish government is behindthis bank asit is responsible forthe whole banking sector ofTurkey, Simsek said, asquoted bythe A Haber broadcaster.


Halkbank, the seventh largest bank inTurkey, may face troubles withforeign borrowing asa result ofAtillas arrest, Simsek underlined.

According tothe US Department ofJustice, Atilla is suspected ofhelping gold trader Reza Zarrab transfer large sums ofmoney toIran viaUS financial institutions.

On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Atillas arrest may have been influenced byformer US Attorney forthe Southern District ofNew York Preet Bharara, who is believed tohave close ties withFethullah terrorist organization (FETO), which Ankara accuses oforganizing Turkey's thwarted July coup.

For years Iran has been impacted bythe burden ofinternational sanctions introduced bythe United States, the European Union, aswell asby the United Nations againstthe backdrop ofits nuclear and missile activities. Washington's anti-Tehran sanctions regime also includes the restrictions imposed afterthe 1979 revolution. On July 14, 2015, Iran and the group ofsix international mediators signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan ofAction (JCPOA), ensuring the peaceful nature ofTehran's nuclear program inexchange forgradual sanctions relief.

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