The United States will seek the extradition from Austria of a Turkish businessman to face US justice in Utah on charges of money laundering and fraud in the electronic money transfer process, the US Department of Justice said on Monday.
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz laundered more than $ 133 million in fraudulent proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg, according to a Justice Department statement, as VOA reports.
According to the statement, Mr. Korkmaz was arrested in Austria on Saturday following a request by US justice, following the unveiling of a new lawsuit accusing him of money laundering, fraud in the electronic transfer of money, and obstruction of a formal procedure. Reuters news agency was unable to identify his lawyer for comment.
The businessman is also being investigated in Turkey. Turkish prosecutors arrested 10 executives working for Korkmaz companies in December after the Turkish Financial Crimes Investigation Board (known locally with the acronym MASAK) said the companies had been used for money laundering, the Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported.
The Turkish ambassador to Austria told the Dogan News Agency on Sunday that Korkmaz had been arrested on Saturday in a town about 260 kilometers from Vienna and that Turkey had begun an extradition process with Austrian authorities. Turkish diplomacy did not respond to calls to comment on the case. It is still unclear where Korkmaz will be extradited. He is believed to have fled Turkey in December before the arrests were made.
U.S. prosecutors say the proceeds originated in a fraud scheme where he profited more than $ 1 billion by evading taxes on the production and sale of oil known as "biodiesel" from Washakie Renewable Energy LLC in Utah (Utah). The company did not respond to calls for comment.