The Central Intelligence Agency has “openly” threatened Turkish businessmen for trading with Russia, prying into their real estate deals over concerns about the potential circumvention of US sanctions, Yeni Safak daily reported on Friday.
The paper has learned that the CIA’s Turkey office chief allegedly called high-ranking construction-company employees, inquiring about transactions and other confidential details of recent real-estate purchases involving Russian entities or individuals.
According to the report, the CIA officer interviewed businessmen under the guise of monitoring the US-imposed anti-Russia sanctions. He was interested to know the exact number of “houses sold to Russians,” what channels and currency were used for transactions, and whether the payments were made through a bank or cash-in-hand.
Another example of what has been described by Turkish media as “meddling in the affairs that are out of [US authorities’] duty” was a letter reportedly sent by US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo to the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) on August 22.
According to the outlet, Adeyemo had threatened to impose sanctions on TUSIAD members involved in doing business with Russia. The association confirmed the letter without disclosing its content, noting that it had shared it with the Turkish foreign and finance ministries.
