Halkbank's Iran transactions legal, Turkey says

By Fatih Erkan Dogan

ANKARA (AA) - State lender Halkbank’s transactions with Iran were allowed under UN Security Council sanctions, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said Thursday.

He was speaking three days after the bank’s Deputy CEO Mehmet Hakan Atilla was arrested in New York on charges of conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran.

“It seems there is an indictment prepared beforehand,” Simsek said, referring to the investigation into Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader.

“This is an effort to expand a case left over from a previous term. When we discussed those issues with Halkbank thoroughly long time ago, we saw it was very clear that the bank had conducted brokerage with a neighboring country in a scope allowed by the UN Security Council.

“We have repeatedly told this to U.S. officials but it appears they think otherwise.”

Simsek, who has responsibility for the economy, told broadcaster Fox News: “The important thing is whether Turkey acted in line with principles introduced by the UN Security Council.”