Shady tycoon's extradition not discussed in meeting between US, Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that the extradition of shady business tycoon Sezgin Baran Korkmaz was not discussed at his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Thursday September 23 2021 12:35 pm

Duvar English

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that the issues surrounding a shady business tycoon's extradition from Vienna were not discussed in his Sept. 21 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Çavuşoğlu said that there are no new developments regarding Sezgin Baran Korkmaz's court case and extradition.

"We have filed our applications and the court case is ongoing. There are no developments or meetings in relation to that," the Turkish minister told reporters on Sept. 22.

Turkey and the United States are in a fight for Korkmaz's extradition from Vienna, who is currently under arrest awaiting his fate in the extradition contest.

Both countries want him on charges of laundering proceeds from a U.S. renewable-energy tax credit fraud.

Korkmaz was arrested in Austria in June at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, which accuses him of laundering more than $133 million in tax fraud proceeds through a network of businesses he controls in Turkey. Prosecutors in Turkey want him in connection with the same alleged scheme and have launched extradition proceedings against him in an Austrian court.

Korkmaz denies the U.S. and Turkish government’s charges against him, with his lawyer saying that Korkmaz viewed the transfers of funds from his alleged co-conspirators in the U.S. as legitimate business transactions.

'Continued dialogue'

Separately, Turkish Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Sept. 22.

The two officials discussed "the need for continued cooperation in Afghanistan, including on efforts to ensure humanitarian assistance continues to flow unimpeded to Afghans in need."

They also discussed "our shared efforts to address global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of climate change," as well as developments in the Middle East and South Caucasus.

The officials agreed on the importance of continued dialogue to enhance the U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship, according to a statement released by the White House.