Turkey to discuss Halkbank executive's case with Tillerson
The arrest of a senior Turkish banker by U.S. authorities will be discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he visits Ankara this week, Turkey's foreign minister said yesterday.
In an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also called for transparency regarding Deputy General Manager of International Banking at Halkbank Mehmet Hakan Atilla's arrest, saying that the Turkish consul general was unable to receive information about Atilla until a formal statement was made. U.S. authorities late Tuesday arrested the executive of state-owned Halkbank on charges of conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran as part of a broader investigation. Atilla is accused of conspiring with Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, according to a criminal complaint filed in a federal court in New York. The 47-year-old executive was detained by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York on Monday. The arrest, made in connection with the pending prosecution of Zarrab, was made public one day after. Atilla's trial is set for Monday, April 10. Speaking to the Bloomberg HT news channel, Halkbank General Manager Ali Fuat Taşkesenlioğlu said that they could not obtain any information from the U.S. regarding the process, saying: "Our relations with Iran are transparent, without any doubt. We have undergone all types of audits," he added. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci also commented on the issue, saying: "It is noteworthy that this is taking place just before the April 16 referendum. If there were such motives, they could have shared the information with us beforehand," he added.
A formidable state-lender with a capital adequacy ratio of 13.08 percent as of Dec. 31, 2016, the assets of Halkbank grew by 23.3 percent in 2016 and the bank secured a net profit of over TL 2 billion ($550 million). Moreover, the bank's corporate governance rating in compliance with the principles set forth by the Capital Markets'Board has been revised up to 9.30.
In an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also called for transparency regarding Deputy General Manager of International Banking at Halkbank Mehmet Hakan Atilla's arrest, saying that the Turkish consul general was unable to receive information about Atilla until a formal statement was made. U.S. authorities late Tuesday arrested the executive of state-owned Halkbank on charges of conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran as part of a broader investigation. Atilla is accused of conspiring with Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, according to a criminal complaint filed in a federal court in New York. The 47-year-old executive was detained by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York on Monday. The arrest, made in connection with the pending prosecution of Zarrab, was made public one day after. Atilla's trial is set for Monday, April 10. Speaking to the Bloomberg HT news channel, Halkbank General Manager Ali Fuat Taşkesenlioğlu said that they could not obtain any information from the U.S. regarding the process, saying: "Our relations with Iran are transparent, without any doubt. We have undergone all types of audits," he added. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci also commented on the issue, saying: "It is noteworthy that this is taking place just before the April 16 referendum. If there were such motives, they could have shared the information with us beforehand," he added.
A formidable state-lender with a capital adequacy ratio of 13.08 percent as of Dec. 31, 2016, the assets of Halkbank grew by 23.3 percent in 2016 and the bank secured a net profit of over TL 2 billion ($550 million). Moreover, the bank's corporate governance rating in compliance with the principles set forth by the Capital Markets'Board has been revised up to 9.30.
Last Update: March 29, 2017 22:46