Warning of US sanctions on Turkish companies
The United States, which has applied numerous sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, is putting increasing pressure on Turkey in this regard.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper wrote last week that the US administration had warned Turkey not to service and support US-made Russian airliners at Turkey’s airports. Russian media outlet RBK also reported that Havaş, one of Turkey’s leading airport ground-handling service providers, may stop servicing US-made Russian Airlines planes, and a letter was sent to Russian companies about it.
According to the news from Begüm Dönmez Ersöz, the US administration-affiliated Voice of America (VOA) site, Brian Nelson, the Undersecretary of the Treasury Department, the top US sanctions official, gave clear warnings to Ankara in Turkey, which visited this week.
Nelson, who is Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Department of Finance, rounded out his contacts with Turkey with the Russian sanctions agenda. Meeting with government officials and banking industry representatives, Nelson warned that Turkish companies and banks could face the risk of sanctions if they do business with Russian institutions on the sanctions list.
Nelson met with the Turkish Banking Association to discuss the international sanctions imposed on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, on the Istanbul leg of his visit to Turkey, which was after the United Arab Emirates. In his speech, the US undersecretary stressed the joint effort to eliminate weak points in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to the transcript posted on the ministry’s official website, Undersecretary Nelson warned that Turkish companies and banks doing business with sanctioned Russian institutions “may risk losing their access to the G7 market.”
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND REAL ESTATE SECTOR WARNING
US officials stressed that Turkish companies and banks should take more precautions to avoid dual-use technology transfer transactions that could be exploited by the Russian military-industrial complex.
Stating that the real estate sector is one of the sectors most open to abuse by illegal actors in Turkey and the US, the senior US official said that the private sector must subject real estate transactions to strict scrutiny to prevent money laundering. of money in luxury real estate. estate. Brian Nelson recalled that they warned the private sector against the possibility of Russian oligarchs on the sanctions list investing in real estate in the United States.
Stating that they understand that Turkey depends on energy imports and trade in agricultural products from Russia, the US undersecretary drew attention to the increase in secondary product exports from Turkey to Russia in the past year. The US official warned that this situation leaves the private sector in Turkey exposed to the risk of sanctions.
CALL FOR STRICT CONTROL
“Moscow is trying to use its opaque economic relations to counter international sanctions. “Russian banks encourage deceptive payment practices and practice undercover payments,” she said.
Nelson warned that Turkish companies and banks doing business with Russian institutions on the sanctions list “may risk losing their access to the G7 market.” Stating that Russian businessmen continue to buy real estate and yachts in Turkey, the US official called for tighter control on transactions with Russian institutions and individuals to reduce the risk of sanctions.
Stating that they are working to stop Russia’s efforts to circumvent international sanctions and financial controls in many countries, including Turkey, Nelson said they understand that Turkey faces difficulties because it is a hub of international trade close to conflict zones.