Turkey prepares extradition request for former police investigator in US

NEW YORK

Turkish authorities have prepared an extradition request for a witness who testified in the United States case against a Turkish banker, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 4.

The extradition request has been submitted to the Justice Ministry, which will send it to the U.S. judicial authorities, the report said, citing an unnamed official.

On Jan. 3, the jury in the U.S. case found the executive of Turkish state lender Halkbank guilty of helping Iran evade sanctions. The Turkish government called the verdict “scandalous and unjust.”

The witness, Hüseyin Korkmaz, is a former police investigator who collected evidence against government officials in a 2013 corruption case, which included some of the same defendants as the trial now ending in the United States.

Korkmaz, in Turkey, faces several charges including “being member of an armed terror group” and “attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey.”

Anadolu said Turkish authorities had also issued a warrant for his arrest.