Turkey names former jailed banker to lead Istanbul stock exchange
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a former deputy head of the state-owned Halkbank who was previously jailed by the US for helping Iran evade economic sanctions, has been appointed to head up the Istanbul stock exchange.
“After [former CEO] Murat Cetinkaya was appointed as Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Turkey, Mehmet Hakan Atilla was elected as Borsa Istanbul CEO and Board Member,” read a statement from the stock exchange on Monday.
The 49-year-old banker was arrested in New York in March 2017 for violating US sanctions against Iran after being named in another court proceeding. Iranian-Turkish business man Reza Zarrab was arrested in 2016 for similar charges and gave testimony against Atilla. Zarrab claimed that Iran used a complex web of shell companies dealing with medicine, gold, and food to evade US sanctions with the help of Halkbank and Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Atilla was convicted by a US court in January 2018 for assisting Iran to evade sanctions and was sentenced to 32 months in jail. He was released on good behaviour and returned to Turkey in late July.
The Turkish government denied all accusations against the banker and Erdogan claimed the case was a political attack on his country.
The case strained already tenuous relations between Turkey and the United States. Atilla’s new appointment comes amid efforts out of Washington to end a Turkish military offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces. A US-brokered pause in the operation will expire on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump has already sanctioned Turkey for its actions in Syria.
Although Atilla is free, his former employer, Halkbank, is still accused of involvement in the sanctions evasion scheme. US prosecutors accused the state-owned bank of participating in the multi-billion dollar plot. Charges were issued by a federal court in Manhattan last week.
The case against Halkbank may further harm relations between the NATO allies.
“After [former CEO] Murat Cetinkaya was appointed as Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Turkey, Mehmet Hakan Atilla was elected as Borsa Istanbul CEO and Board Member,” read a statement from the stock exchange on Monday.
The 49-year-old banker was arrested in New York in March 2017 for violating US sanctions against Iran after being named in another court proceeding. Iranian-Turkish business man Reza Zarrab was arrested in 2016 for similar charges and gave testimony against Atilla. Zarrab claimed that Iran used a complex web of shell companies dealing with medicine, gold, and food to evade US sanctions with the help of Halkbank and Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Atilla was convicted by a US court in January 2018 for assisting Iran to evade sanctions and was sentenced to 32 months in jail. He was released on good behaviour and returned to Turkey in late July.
The Turkish government denied all accusations against the banker and Erdogan claimed the case was a political attack on his country.
The case strained already tenuous relations between Turkey and the United States. Atilla’s new appointment comes amid efforts out of Washington to end a Turkish military offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces. A US-brokered pause in the operation will expire on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump has already sanctioned Turkey for its actions in Syria.
Although Atilla is free, his former employer, Halkbank, is still accused of involvement in the sanctions evasion scheme. US prosecutors accused the state-owned bank of participating in the multi-billion dollar plot. Charges were issued by a federal court in Manhattan last week.
The case against Halkbank may further harm relations between the NATO allies.