Former CHP deputy, bank auditor sought for providing fake evidence to Iran sanctions case

An Istanbul court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for former banking watchdog auditor Osman Zeki Canıtez and former main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Aykan Erdemir for supplying fake evidence and documents to be used in the U.S.-based Iran sanctions case targeting Turkish figures.

The arrest warrants were issued upon as both figures were charged with "stealing, cheating to take, misusing or destroying documents related to the security of state" in an investigation that is currently being carried out by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's office.

Canıtez was a former auditor for Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA - BDDK), which prepared a report in January 2014 on the role of public-owned Halkbank's transactions in breaching U.S. sanctions on Iran, shortly after the Dec. 17 and 25 operations launched by Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) linked prosecutors and judges. The report was described as ""so-called/fake report" in the document sent to the court asking an arrest warrant issued for Canıtez.

In the aftermath of July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Canıtez could not be found in his address during an operation targeting FETÖ-linked bank auditors regarding irregularities in Bank Asya. Canıtez remains on the run.

Reports suggests that Metin Topuz, who was an employee at the U.S. Istanbul consulate arrested in early October over links to FETÖ and caused a brief visa crisis with Turkey, served as an intermediary in taking the confidential report from Canıtez and transmitting it to U.S. authorities.

Erdemir, who served as CHP Bursa deputy between 2011 and 2015, is currently in the U.S. and works as a senior analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which is known for its neoconservative, pro-Israel and recently anti-Turkey rhetoric.

FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz and Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer were appointed Friday as experts on Iran sanctions by Judge Richard Berman despite objections from defense lawyers. Berman also ruled not to allow FDD's donations outside of public financial sources and donors to be questioned.

The investigation in the U.S. became apparent when Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab was arrested in Miami in March last year on charges of engaging in hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions on behalf of the government of Iran and other Iranian entities, which were barred by U.S. sanctions, while allegedly laundering the proceeds and defrauding several financial institutions by concealing the true nature of the illegal transactions.

U.S. prosecutors also charged former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Süleyman Aslan, who is the former general manager of state-owned Halkbank, and two others for conspiring to evade the U.S. sanctions on Iran. Zarrab and Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was arrested while in the U.S. in March 2017, were scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 27, but the trial was postponed late Tuesday to Dec. 4.

Atilla pleaded not guilty to the charges that accused him of conspiring with Zarrab.

U.S. New York Southern District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan told Monday that prospective jurors in the case that Atilla is the only defendant on trial and Zarrab will not appear in court.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said Monday that the U.S. applied pressure on Zarrab to force him to sign off on fabricated accusations as the 34-year-old businessman dropped out of sight in the two months leading up to his scheduled trial.