ERDOGAN IMPLICATED IN IRAN MONEY LAUNDERING

NEWYORK: A Turkish-iranian gold trader on Thursday told jurors in a New York federal court that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan authorised a transaction in a scheme to help Iran evade US sanctions.

Reza Zarrab is cooperating with US 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 authorised two Turkish banks, Ziraat Bank and Vakifbank, to move funds for Iran. Both Ziraat and Vakifbank denied taking part in the scheme.

Erdogan’s spokesman, and an adviser to Babacan could not immediately be contacted. Erdogan said earlier that Turkey did not violate US 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.

US prosecutors charged nine people in the case with conspiring to help Iran evade sanctions.

Turkey has previously said that Caglayan acted lawfully, and Halkbank has said it acted lawfully as well. Caglayan previously said that similar allegations in a 2013 corruption investigation later dismissed were “unfounded claims”.