Turkish businessman faces extradition to the United States
The Turkish businessman is in the spotlight of an Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation into Trump Era backchannel diplomacy has been arrested in Austria and now faces extradition to the United States, the US Department of Justice said on Monday.
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz
(Photo: SBKV)
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz was arrested at the request of the US for his alleged role in a scheme – along with Armenian-American organised crime figure Levon Termendzhyan and members of a secret Mormon sect that defrauded the US government of approximately $500 million in fraudulent biofuel tax credits. Korkmaz allegedly laundered more than $133 million of this money through accounts in Turkey and Luxembourg.
The US government will seek Korkmaz’s extradition to Utah to face trial, the US Department of Justice said. His alleged accomplices, Termendzhyan and brothers Jacob and Isaiah Kingston, have already been convicted in a separate proceeding.
A joint investigation by OCCRP and Law&Crime in March revealed that Korkmaz played a key role in facilitating the 2018 trip to Turkey of two figures associated with then-US President Donald Trump, former CIA Director James Woolsey and current Republican National Committee Co-Chair Thomas Hicks Jr. The trip was aimed at securing Andrew Brunson’ freedom, an evangelical pastor imprisoned in Turkey.
Korkmaz was also part of a broader Turkish effort, uncovered by OCCRP last year, to discreetly influence the Trump administration through a number of intermediaries and business partners, many of whom have since been subjected to criminal investigations and proceedings.
The Korkmaz case also turned out to be a headache for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Korkmaz allegedly maintained ties with high-ranking Turkish officials and was pictured next to Erdoğan. The Turkish President has ensured that all photos of him and Korkmaz together were erased from the Internet.
Turkey sought Korkmaz’ arrest and extradition on separate charges.
Korkmaz’ lawyer in Turkey Volkan Murat Dülger told local media that the businessman wants to be tried in Turkey, not in the United States, because if he is found guilty, he will most likely face a much shorter prison term. The Turkish newspaper Sözcü reported that Korkmaz remained silent while acting in front of a Vienna court on Monday.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14696-turkish-businessman-arrested-faces-u-s-extradition
Translated by Elizaveta O. Ovchinnikova
