The U.S. Industry and Security Bureau on Wednesday ordered to deny export privileges to Turkey’s former Halkbank manager Hakan Atilla.
“From the date of this Order until May 16, 2028, Mehmet Hakan Atilla when acting for or on his behalf, his successors, assigns, employees, agents or representatives, may not, directly or indirectly, participate in any way in any transaction involving any commodity, software or technology exported or to be exported from the United States that is subject to the Regulations,” the Industry and Security Bureau said in a notice.
Atilla will be allowed to appeal the decision within 45 days, the bureau said.
The trial of Halkbank, where the Turkish state-owned lender faces charges of money laundering and U.S. sanctions evasion in favourite of Iran, will commence in May.
Halkbank was indicted last year for its role in circumventing U.S. sanctions against Iran between 2010 and 2016.
Former President Donald J. Trump attempted to get the Department of Justice to drop the case, as per the request of his personal friend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who “was completely focused on getting Halkbank out of the investigation and potential prosecution”, according to Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton.
Erdoğan “was constantly saying that the investigation should be settled or dismissed,” Bolton told German journal Der Spiegel on Wednesday.
Takoohee says
What a bunch of nonsense.
Applying US sanctions to one person is no punishment at all.
That individual can easily avoid such sanctions.
Erdogan will protect him in any case.
Erdogan knows that US is weak when it uses such mild punishments.
When is the US going to condemn Turkey and Azerbaijan’s use of terrorists and mercenaries last year and do something about it? Never.
My opinion: Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken are not tough on Turkey at all, and Erdogan senses their weakness.
I would like Armenians to stop idolizing Biden merely using the G word when, in fact, the US under Trump and Biden have done nothing to punish Turkey and Azerbaijan for their war against Armenians.
Putin is similarly guilty for treating Turkey and Azerbaijan as friends while treating Armenia with disrespect.
It does no good for Biden to acknowledge the Armenian genocide when he does nothing while Armenians remain under genocidal threat today. Same for Putin the bully.