If you are following Turkey, soon you will hear the name of state-lender Halkbank as one of the biggest friction points between US and Turkey. Halkbank is currently on trial in a New York federal court on charges of money laundering and terror financing for Iran, to translate a difficult legal case into laywoman’s terms. The bank’s petition to an appeals court to have the trial dismissed is likely to be rejected. If found guilty, the bank could be liable for fees running into billions of dollars, which will have to be assumed by the Turkish Treasury. More damagingly, the New York DA may claim that the-then Turkish government, headed by current President Erdogan, may have known about the illicit activities that the lender had undertaken.
Ms. Selva Tor is an international commercial affairs expert who had spent years on the file. She is interviewed by Real Turkey Channel host Atilla Yesilada to get to the bottom of this devilishly convoluted story: Did the bank do it? Why did the authorities remain silent? How would Halkbank damage Turko-American relations. Better than a spy thriller.