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ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned a US sanctions-busting case against a Turkish bank executive as a “political coup attempt” and a joint effort by the CIA and FBI to undermine Ankara.
A US jury last week convicted the executive of Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank of evading Iran sanctions, capping a trial that has strained relations between the NATO allies.
Erdogan, speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in the Parliament, said the CIA, the FBI and the network of the US-based cleric Turkey blames for a 2016 coup were together using the case to undermine Ankara.
“Those who could not succeed in the (military) coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, (2016) are now searching for a different attempt in our country,” he said.
Bloomberg quoted Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag as saying the evidence used in the court proceedings “was fabricated” by supporters of Fethullah Gulen.
According to the report in Bloomberg, there is concern that Atilla’s conviction will prompt US authorities to penalize Turkey or its banks — especially since the jury found that the scheme was devised by executives at the state-run bank, formally known as Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS.
“The US has given no indication of that so far. Bekir Bozdag, the Turkish government’s spokesman, has fueled concerns by repeatedly saying that the case is an attempt to cripple Turkey’s economy through the imposition of sanctions,” the report added.
Halkbank is Turkey’s biggest listed state bank, with assets of 280 billion liras ($74 billion), and its success is viewed by the government as a national cause. The bank’s traditional client base consists mainly of small businesses, and with its options for offshore financing hampered by the trial.
The US case against Atilla was based on the testimony of the gold trader Zarrab, who cooperated with US prosecutors and pleaded guilty to charges of leading a scheme to evade US sanctions against Iran.
In his testimony, Zarrab implicated top Turkish politicians.
The bank has denied any wrongdoing and said its transactions were in line with local and international regulations.
The court decision is unlikely to damage Erdogan or his government at home, said Wolfango Piccoli of Teneo Intelligence, a London-based consultancy.
“Domestically, I don’t believe it will make any difference at all...” Piccoli said. “I think it is much more important in terms of the bilateral relations with the United States. This is a relationship that has been difficult for some time.”
Less clear was the potential fall-out for the banking sector, with some analysts seeing the possibility that one or more Turkish lenders could be hit by fines over the case.
“The whole thing is really about what the consequences will be for the relationship between Turkey and the US,” said Paul Fage of TD Securities in London.
Turkey has said it will take any necessary measures to protect its banks from the potential impact of the case.