Turkey will discuss Halkbank executive's case with U.S. Tillerson in Ankara: foreign minister

Reuters

ANKARA (Reuters) - The arrest of a senior Turkish banker by U.S. authorities will be discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he visits Ankara this week, Turkey's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

In an interview with broadcaster TRT Haber, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also called for a transparent process regarding Hakan Atilla's arrest, and said the Turkish consul general was unable to receive information about Atilla until a formal statement was made.

U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday charged Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a deputy general manager at state lender Halkbank <HALKB.IS>, with participating in a multi-year scheme to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, escalating a case that has added to tensions between the United States and Turkey.

Shares in Halkbank slumped as much as 16 percent on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Daren Butler and Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan)