Page 63 - TURKRptDec19

Major Developments in Halkbank case
2010-2011
Barack Obama toughens sanctions on Iran
2012-2013
Booming gold trade in Turkey's foreign trade accounts sparks growing attention
2012
Ivanka Trump attends the opening of Trump Towers Istanbul with Erdogan
Mar/2013
Reza Zarrab receives plaquet from now-First Lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan for his donations to an association
Dec/2013
Corruption scandal in Turkey: Gulenist prosecutor abruptly one morning orders the detention of dozens of people, including then Halkbank general manager Suleyman Aslan and Zarrab, along with the sons of some ministers in the cabinet of then-PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Dec/2013
Erdogan takes the investigation as a direct threat to himself and his family after tapes of his phone calls with some family members are leaked day by day in something of a soap opera
Dec/2013
Erdogan manages to repel the investigation
2014-2017
Erdogan enters into a public war against his ally-turned-enemy, preacher Fethullah Gulen, and he wins, particularly by using the failed so-called Gulenist coup attempt in July 2016 as leverage
2014-2016
Erdogan, his media and officials praise Zarrab as a hero for covering Turkey's current account deficit
Jun/2015
Zarrab receives the Turkish Export Award jointly from the hands of Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, and President of the Turkish Exporters Council Mehmet Buyukeksi, in a ceremony attended by Erdogan
Mar/2016
Zarrab arrested in Miami; he says he went there for a vacation
Mar/2016
It is not a case that interests Turkey, Erdogan says in comments on the arrest of Zarrab
Sep/2016
US media suggest Erdogan and his wife have asked then-US VP Joe Biden and his wife to have Zarrab released and then-US prosecutor Preet Bharara dismissed
Nov/2016
Donald Trump elected as US president
Feb/2017
US media suggest Erdogan has held a secret meeting with Zarrab's lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Marc Mukasey
63​ TURKEY Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com