John Bolton in an interview on the Halkbank case: "Trump wanted to make an impression on Erdoğan"

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Trump and Erdoğan (March 2017 in Washington): "Hardly a conversation in which Halkbank played no role"

Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP

The US judiciary suspects the Turkish state-owned company Halkbank of helping the Iranian regime circumvent sanctions on a large scale.

According to observers, if the bank is convicted in a trial in a New York federal district court, it could face a fine of up to $ 20 billion or expulsion from the international banking system, Swift, in the worst case.

In an earlier trial, a witness testified that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself was involved in the alleged breach of sanctions.

The Turkish government left a request from SPIEGEL unanswered.

Halkbank did not want to comment because of the ongoing proceedings.

Former US Attorney General William Barr was not available for comment.

Former security advisor John Bolton experienced the talks between Donald Trump and Erdoğan up close - and how benevolently the former US president reacted to the tricks of the Turkish head of state.

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