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What role does Recep Tayyip Erdoğan play in the Halkbank affair?
Photo:
Rugged Studio / Shutterstock
In Istanbul's Maslak financial district, in a corner office with a view of the Bosphorus, resides the man whom the US judiciary has accused of playing an important role in one of the largest international criminal cases of recent decades.
Mehmet Hakan Atilla, 50 years old, wears a dark suit, a narrow tie and a neatly trimmed gray beard.
As he speaks, stock prices scroll across a screen on the wall in front of him.
After studying economics in Ankara, Atilla joined the Turkish state-owned company Halkbank.
Within two decades, he rose to the position of Deputy Head of the bank, responsible, among other things, for international finance.
Atilla lived secluded with his wife and son in Ankara.
He's one of those men who silently keeps the machine running.
His life changed suddenly when he was arrested by FBI officers at New York Airport on March 27, 2017.
A video shows how he turns to the police during the questioning: “Do your best.
I'm a government official, ”he says.
"I am sure that the Turkish government will be interested in this case." Since then, Atilla has been Turkey's best-known finance manager.
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