Free Republic

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the targets of an investigation in Turkey into suspected bribery and money laundering in connection with a scheme to help Iran evade sanctions, a former Istanbul police officer has testified. The officer, Huseyin Korkmaz, told a New York court on December 11 that the Turkish investigation that he led in 2012-2013 initially focused on Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, who U.S. prosecutors have said was the mastermind behind the Iran sanctions evasion scheme, but later grew to include dozens of others. He called Erdogan the "No. 1" target in a group that also included...

After more than three weeks of testimony and four days of deliberation, a New York jury convicted a Turkish banker charged in a U.S. sanctions-busting case that strained relations between the two countries. Hakan Atilla, 47, the deputy general manager of Halkbank, was found guilty of five counts of conspiracy and bank fraud but acquitted of money laundering. The verdict is likely to bring sharp rebukes from the government of Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who was implicated during the closely watched trial. Atilla faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman...