US to seek extradition of Sezgin Baran Korkmaz over money laundering, fraud charges
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The US will seek to extradite businessperson Sezgin Baran Korkmaz so he can appear before a court to face charges of money laundering, the Justice Department said yesterday (June 21).
Korkmaz was arrested in Austria on June 19 and was indicted on "one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding," said a release by the department.
Korkmaz may face up to 220 years in prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction.
"According to the superseding indictment, Korkmaz laundered over 133 million dollars in fraud proceeds through bank accounts that he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg.
Korkmaz is also investigated in Turkey for money laundering. He recently claimed that he was asked for a bribe by government officials in Turkey for the investigation against him to be dropped.
CLICK - Turkey wants extradition of Korkmaz after detention in Austria
"The proceeds allegedly related to a scheme by Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and Levon Termendzhyan to defraud the U.S. Treasury by filing false claims for over 1 billion dollars in refundable renewable fuel tax credits for the production and sale of biodiesel by their company, Washakie Renewable Energy LLC, in Plymouth, Utah," says the statement.
The US wants Korkmaz to appear before US District Judge Jill Parrish of the District of Utah to face the charges.
"If convicted, Korkmaz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy count, 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud counts, and five years in prison for the obstruction count," the statement added.
Judge Parrish will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, said the department.
Bribery allegations in TurkeyMob boss Sedat Peker, who has been releasing controversial videos on state-mafia relations in Turkey since early May, made allegations about Korkmaz in his video on June 6. He claimed that Korkmaz visited Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu at his office one day before he departed from Turkey, despite having an arrest warrant against him. He also talked about a recording of a phone call between journalist Veyis Ateş and Korkmaz and questioned how Ateş was able to afford to stay at a luxurious hotel owned by Korkmaz. Later, Korkmaz said Ateş had asked him for a bribe of 10 million Euro during the phone conversation, the recording of which was released on Twitter by journalist and MP Ahmet Şık yesterday. Ateş claimed that the recording was created by combining parts from several conversations and denied that he requested money from Korkmaz. In the recording, a person who is believed to be Ateş says "a lobby, a clique" was responsible for the investigation against him but he can get away with that if he proves his "sincerity." When Korkmaz asks what the proof is, he replies, "10 million Euro." It's not clear on whose behalf Ateş was negotiating with Korkmaz. |
(KÖ/VK)