Hakan Atilla points to Israel in Halkbank case

A significant development occurred recently regarding the case filed against Halkbank in the US, which has long been a source of tension in Turkey-US relations. In an official statement from the US Department of Justice, it was announced that a "Deferred Prosecution Agreement" (DPA) had been signed with Halkbank.

With this agreement, it was stated that a settlement had been reached with the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York within the scope of the case filed on October 15, 2019. While the parties did not share detailed information, the agreement is considered to have opened the door to a new era in relations between the two countries.

Hakan Atilla, the former deputy general manager who spent 28 months in US prisons during the Halkbank case, made notable remarks following the settlement decision. In a statement to Patronlar Dünyası, Atilla said the following:

"As I understand it, the foreign ministries of the two countries have reached an agreement on certain issues at some point. We are not privy to the details of which country's interests this serves. I believe Israel also had a share in the settlement decision. Because, as all parties involved in the case can clearly see, there are Israeli fingerprints all over the process."

Emphasizing that Israel's interference was visible from the very beginning of the case, Atilla stated, "They were there at the beginning, and they were there at the end."

WHAT HAPPENED?

In the case filed against Halkbank in the US, allegations were made regarding the violation of sanctions against Iran, and the bank's former deputy general manager Hakan Atilla was tried with a request for up to 105 years in prison. The court sentenced Atilla to 32 months in prison at the lower limit; Atilla was released on July 19, 2019, after spending 28 months in prison.

News Source: 12punto