TURKEY: U/S LEVEY ON DANGERS OF DOING BUSINESS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000379 SIPDIS SIPDIS ANKARA PASS TO ADANA TREASURY FOR U/S LEVEY E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2023 TAGS: EFIN KTFN KNNP EINV TU IR SUBJECT: TURKEY: U/S LEVEY ON DANGERS OF DOING BUSINESS WITH IRAN REF: A. ANKARA 298 ¶B. ANKARA 277 ¶C. 2007 STATE 5584 ¶D. 2007 ANKARA 74 ¶E. 2006 ANKARA 6687 Classified By: Economic Counselor Dale Eppler for reasons 1.4(b) and (d ) ¶1. (C) Summary: In his January 28th meetings with the Turkish Foreign, Finance, and Treasury Ministries and Halkbank, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey discussed the dangers of doing business with Iran and warned of the need for constant vigilance and extraordinary scrutiny in financial relations with Iran due its use of deceptive financial practices. Levey summarized international and U.S. actions against Iran over the past year including the designation of Bank Sepah pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1747, the Financial Action Task Force guidance on the risks posed by Iran,s deficient money laundering and terrorist finance controls, and the U.S. designations of Bank Melli, Mellat, and Saderat. (Note: On October 25, 2007, the U.S. Government designated the Iranian state-owned banks Melli and Mellat for support for Iran,s proliferation activities and Bank Saderat for support to Hizbullah, under Executive Orders 13882 and 13224 respectively. End note.) He emphasized that Iranian banks, increasingly cut off from major financial institutions worldwide, are turning to banks in developing financial markets such as Turkey for access to the international financial system. Turkey,s financial sector, Levey explained, faces heightened risk because of the presence of three Bank Mellat branches, the reported interest of Bank Melli in purchasing a Turkish bank (Reftels A-C),and the underdeveloped state of Turkey,s anti-money laundering/terrorist finance regime. He also emphasized the importance of targeting the financing of the PKK and urged his counterparts to bring Turkey,s definition of terrorism finance in line with international standards. Turkish officials welcomed the visit, noted that Turkey and Iran have significant business ties, especially in the energy field, and expressed a willingness to address the specific points raised concerning Iranian banks. End summary. ¶2. (S) In his meeting with Treasury Minister Mehmet Simsek, U/S Levey warned of risks to Turkish interests posed by deceptive Iranian financial practices. He said many international financial institutions are cutting off relations with Iranian banks, causing Iran to seek alternate finance partners and that GOT officials need to remain vigilant to ensure that the Turkish financial sector does not emerge as a gateway for Iran to the international financial system. In particular, Levey noted two specific Iran-related risks to Turkey,s financial sector. The first concerns reports that Bank Melli is considering the purchase of the Turkish bank, Adabank, and has reportedly reached agreement in principle with a sales price of $250 million. Levey stressed that the purchase of a Turkish bank by Bank Melli would expose the Turkish financial system to potential abuse. Simsek agreed to look into the matter and said the Banking Regulatory and Supervision Agency (BRSA) and MASAK (Turkey's financial intelligence unit) would have jurisdiction over the sale. The second major risk, Levey explained, stems from the presence of three branches of Iran,s Bank Mellat in Turkey. Given Mellat,s proliferation activities, Levey suggested that Turkish regulatory authorities may wish to reconsider whether Mellat is "fit and proper" to hold a banking license. ¶3. (C) Simsek noted Turkey's trade ties with Iran, especially in the energy field, and asked Levey whether he was advising against doing business with any Iranian bank. Levey understood that was impossible, given Turkey's trade with Iran, but noted that extraordinary scrutiny and constant vigilance were advisable. Simsek said no Turk wants Iran to gain nuclear weapons capability and said the GOT would not allow the shipment of any nuclear weapons grade or dual-use materials to Iran. ¶4. (C) Levey noted that the February 2007 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment showed deficiencies in Turkey's anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance regime. This assessment raised questions about Turkey,s capacity to exercise enhanced scrutiny over transactions with Iran. He warned of the likelihood that Iran would seek to exploit these weaknesses and encouraged the GOT to strengthen the regime. In particular, Levey noted that Turkey needs to work on its examination of correspondent banking relationships and ANKARA 00000379 002 OF 003 greatly increase scrutiny on high-risk countries and customers. ¶5. (S) Levey also met with Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, who was joined by Under Secretary Hasan Basri Aktan and MASAK President Adnan Erturk. Unakitan told Levey about the new law on financial crimes and the new implementing legislation for MASAK. He said the GOT was working to eliminate deficiencies noted in the FATF review. Levey warned Unakitan of the Iranians' desperation to find banking partners and the risks inherent in those relationships. Unakitan agreed the GOT does not want to see Turkish banks being used as tools for terrorist financing or nuclear proliferation. Levey repeated his earlier warning about Bank Melli's attempts to buy Adabank. Unakitan committed MASAK and BRSA to enhanced scrutiny of the proposed purchase and other interactions with Iranian banks, going so far as to phone the head of the BRSA during the meeting to relay the message on Adabank. Regarding Bank Melli's proposed purchase of Adabank, Levey noted that the U.S. would have no choice but to designate Adabank if it comes under Bank Melli ownership or control. ¶6. (C) To demonstrate deceptive Iranian financial practices, Levey showed his interlocutors an advertisement that was posted in the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune soliciting bids to build a nuclear power plant for the Nuclear Power Production and Development Company of Iran, an affiliate of the UN-designated Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). The ad called for the 15,000 Euro fee from interested bidders to be sent to Austria Bank, Creditanstalt. Levey said he had called that bank to ask how they could handle these transactions involving a UN-designated entity. The bank told him the account had been set up to fund activities of Iranian diplomats who were working at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the account was held by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Levey warned of the same type of tactic possibly being used against a Turkish financial institution. ¶7. (C) Levey also stressed the importance to the U.S. of working with Turkish and European authorities to identify and dismantle sources of funding for the PKK and highlighted the interagency delegation led by Frank Urbancic, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, to Europe to discuss PKK financing. He urged Turkish authorities to demonstrate their commitment to combating terrorist financing by bringing Turkey,s definition of terrorism in line with international standards. (Note: Turkish law limits the criminalization of terrorism to acts that directly target Turkish individuals or interests. End note.) Levey warned that European officials could seize upon Turkey,s apparent lack of commitment to fighting terrorism more globally to justify continued inaction on PKK financing. ¶8. (C) Levey met with Halkbank General Manager Halil Celik, Chief Financial Officer Erdal Ersoy, and Compliance Officer Dur Oglan about the risks of doing business with Iran. He repeated the points discussed in paragraphs above and stressed the importance of extraordinary vigilance in vetting transactions and knowing Halkbank's customers. The bank officials noted that Turkey has significant trade ties with Iran, but stressed that Halkbank uses the OFAC sanctions lists to vet its customers. Ersoy noted that Halkbank is a correspondent bank of Citibank and Bank of New York, among others in the U.S., and wishes to maintain its relationships with its U.S. partners. Celik advised that Halkbank has some long-dormant correspondent accounts with Iranian banks, and Levey suggested promptly closing these accounts. Levey noted the desperation of Iranian banks to find willing international partners and warned Halkbank not to expand ties with Iranian financial institutions. Ersoy advised that Halkbank maintains a representative office in Iran, but stated that this office was acquired as part of an earlier acquisition of Pamukbank and that the office is not engaged in any significant activity. He stated that Halkbank was not interested in opening a branch in Tehran. ¶9. (C) Levey met with Foreign Ministry Director General for Security Affairs Hayati Guven with whom he discussed sanctions, UNSC resolutions 1737 and 1747, and a pending third resolution. Guven mentioned Levey's earlier visits to Turkey (Reftels D-E) and committed the GOT to continued vigilance against entities sanctioned by the UNSC. Guven noted it is not easy to buy a bank in Turkey due to strong competition and strict oversight of all bids. He noted that the mechanisms for freezing the assets under UNSCRs 1267, 1737, and 1747 were difficult but Turkey was committed to the ANKARA 00000379 003 OF 003 effort. He said that Yassin al-Kadi was winning many of the European cases seeking a release of his assets, which had been frozen under 1267. Guven feared he would continue chipping away and seek a court's release of his assets in Turkey. Regarding business with Iran, Guven noted the one million Iranian tourists who visit Turkey annually and said their experiences here would probably help promote democracy. He said oil and gas shipments from Iran are very important for Turkey and a mechanism to pay for this trade will always be required. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON