Turkey finds no financial abuse by firm US targeted over Hamas ties

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey said it had reviewed the financial activities of a company whose shareholders were sanctioned by the United States on the grounds of providing aid to Hamas and found there was no abuse of its financial system.

The United States issued sanctions aimed at the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 27, with three primary shareholders of Turkish real estate investment fund Trend GYO, including its chairman and a board member, among those targeted.

At the time, Trend GYO denied providing financial support to the group.

Turkey’s Treasury said in a statement late on Monday that the Turkish financial system operated in full compliance with national laws and international obligations, monitored by several regulatory and supervisory authorities.

“Turkish authorities have carefully reviewed the financial activities and status of all relevant real and legal persons to establish that there was no abuse of our nation’s financial system,” it said.

Turkish officials have shared those findings with their U.S. counterparts, including Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson and his team during their most recent visit to Ankara, and received no evidence that challenged their findings, the statement said.

Nelson told journalists in Istanbul last month that even though Turkey does not designate Hamas a terrorist group, the U.S.-targeted entities could still violate Turkish domestic law, including money laundering and the direct funding of violent acts.

Speaking to Reuters last week, a Turkish official said that while Turkey only imposed sanctions endorsed by the United Nations Security Council and opposed unilateral measures, Ankara took measures to minimize any circumvention of sanctions.

(Reporting by Daren Butler and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Bernadette Baum)