Halkbank transactions legitimate, report says

The report was prepared by three auditors from the Turkish Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) states that the money, found in the home of Halkbank General Manager Süleyman Aslan at the end of last year, had no connection to the bank.

The report was prompted by a months-long campaign targeting the government, including an investigation that was launched on Dec. 17 following allegations that the bank spent public money on illegitimate transactions.

According to the report, Halkbank has never been involved in money laundering and gold smuggling contrary to allegations. "There is no illegal transaction with any company or country. All of them have been done in accordance with the law," says the report. The findings have since been presented to Halkbank's board of directors and delivered to the prosecutor who is conducting the investigation.

Halkbank has also been in the spotlight since the end of January due to allegations that it was doing business with Iranian companies that are subject to international sanctions. But speculation that Halkbank would face centure has mostly diminished, in part due to comments by Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David Cohen, who noted during a visit to Turkey on Jan. 27: "Halkbank has for some time been involved in handling oil payments for importing oil from Iran into Turkey and we expect that to continue."

Istanbul / Sabah English