ICYMI/Thread: Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, a Turkish businessman was arrested in Austria on June 19, 2021. This arrest followed the unsealment of a superseding indictment returned in April 28th by a federal grand jury.
Korkmaz laundered over $133 million in fraud proceeds through bank accounts that he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg.
He's charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
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The proceeds were related to a scheme by Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and Levon Termendzhyan to defraud the U.S. Treasury over $1B in refundable renewable fuel tax credits for the production & sale of biodiesel by their company, Washakie Renewable Energy in Plymouth, UT.
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Korkmaz devised a scheme to defraud the Kingstons by falsely representing that he could provide them with protection, through unnamed government officials, from a federal grand jury investigation and civil lawsuits.
Where have I heard the name
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, you ask?
Maybe because he was subpoenaed by Robert Mueller. Korkmaz happens to be a very close ally of Ekim Alptekin, the dude who hired Michael Flynn to lobby for Turkey during the 2016 election.
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From Sept 2017: "It’s not clear why prosecutors wanted Korkmaz to testify. But one possible explanation is his connection to Alptekin. Investigators are interested in the ultimate source of the money that Alptekin’s company paid to Flynn’s firm..."
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"Korkmaz said in a radio interview in May [2017] that he started as a dishwasher at age 13 and is now bringing hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. to Turkey. His company invests in a range of industries in Turkey, the Middle East, the U.S. and Russia."
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From 2017:
"But one possible explanation is Korkmaz's connection to Alptekin. Investigators are interested in the ultimate source of the money that Alptekin’s company paid to Flynn’s firm, according to a person familiar with the probe."
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Korkmaz and Alptekin are involved in a trade group together and have overlapping business interests. Korkmaz’s company, SBK Holding, is a member of the Turkey-U.S. Business Council, which is chaired by Alptekin. /9
Korkmaz's business interests are diverse. His company SBK has “major investments” in the Russian energy sector, a Sept 2016 announcement by a Turkish government agency said.
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Well now, we're back full circle:
"The U.S. sister company of Korkmaz’s operation, known as SBK Holdings USA, is led by Levon Termendzhyan, a Russian fuel trader with a long rap sheet, according to court records."
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"Just eight days after formally joining Trump's campaign as an adviser on national security issues, Woolsey met on Sept. 20, 2016 with businessmen Ekim Alptekin and Sezgin Baran Korkmaz over lunch at the Peninsula Hotel in New York."
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So...Woolsey with his wife Miller AND Flynn were competing against each other for the same takedown Gulen contract via Alptekin and Korkmaz?
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The weirdest thing about Korkmaz and his company SBK is their failed attempt to convince Putin to award them a contract to finance $850 million to build the Kerch Strait bridge that connects Crimea to Russia.
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Btw, Korkmaz lost out on the contract to Putin's BFF.
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CODA/June 27, 2021: "Korkmaz, who is sought by the U.S. on money laundering charges, purchased a private jet with U.S. government funding and the aircraft was used by Washington-sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami."
"The women experienced memory loss during their time with Raymond and had no knowledge of the photographs, videos, or physical contact. Internet history recovered from Raymond’s devices revealed searches for unconscious women..."
Raymond pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and admitted to the abusive sexual contact of numerous women, as well as photographing and recording dozens of nude and partially nude women without their consent during his career as a U.S. government employee.
He did this for 14 years.
On Dec 15, 2020 the FBI put out a call seeking help in finding information about other potential victims of Raymond's.
1/In 2010, Gen. McChrystal was abruptly fired by Pres. Obama after Rolling Stone published an article that revealed disparaging comments made by McChrystal & his team about then-VP Biden and his stance on the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
3/Fast forward to Jan 6, 2021 where the Capitol Police Chief pleads with the Pentagon for National Guard support due to the insurrectionists who were trying to stop the election certification of President-elect Joe Biden.
This is not good news for former House sergeant-at-arms Irving. Either he lied under oath or his clock on his cellphone is an hour behind. Capitol PD have phone records that have the first call to him from Sund at 12:58 pm - not 2 pm, as was testified.
Sund's phone records show he reached out to House sergeant-at-arms Irving at 12:58 pm. Sund then spoke to Senate sergeant-at-arms Stenger to make the same request at 1:05 pm. Sund repeated his request to Irving at 1:28 pm, 1:34 pm, 1:39 pm & 1:45 pm.
Also, how does Stenger say he didn't get the call from Sund for the request for National Guard support until 2 pm. But then Stenger says he remembers having a convo with Sund at 1:28 pm, 1:30 pm. Was this convo in person & Stenger is just splitting hairs?
"David Cohen, tapped to be deputy director to President-elect Biden’s choice of Bill Burns to run the CIA, used to enjoy being known as President Barack Obama’s 'financial Batman.'"
As Ass't Sec of Treasury for Terrorism & Financial Intelligence from 2009 to 2015, Cohen REVELED in plunging DEEP into the subterranean passages of international money laundering, shining a harsh light on militant networks lurking there & discovering & emptying their war chests.
Cohen learned the specialized languages of intern'l bankers & financial regulators. He used those skills TO GO AFTER THE WORST OF THE WORST not by locking them up—that’s a job for Justice, FBI, DEA & DHS—but BY DEPRIVING them of funds that are the lifeblood of any organization.
Due process is guaranteed under the Fifth & Fourteenth Amendment. If a citizen will be affected by a government decision, it must give advance notice of what the government plans to do & how its action may deprive them of life, liberty, or property.
With that definition in mind, let's break down yesterday's @TheJusticeDept presser.
"The FBI has a long memory and a broad reach."
"Agents from our local field offices will be knocking at your door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol."
1/
"But before we do this, this is your opportunity to come forward as several individuals who were involved in Wednesday's riots have done: to volunteer about their participation."
2/
It started last Fri with my friend - who we will call Bert. He's an anesthesiologist in Virginia & had intubated a patient the previous Mon. Upon entering the hospital, patient had NOT been tested. So Bert was NOT allowed to wear an N95 mask.
2/The patient was ultimately given a test. 4 DAYS later, the results came back POSITIVE.
So now 4 DAYS LATER, Bert gets the call from his employer with this news. No need to get the test, they said. Wait to see if you have any symptoms, they said. And keep coming in to work.
3/So Bert is now freaking out, thinking back to how much time he had spent with this patient, how he was NOT allowed to wear an N95 mask when treating any patient who had NOT yet been tested, regardless of displaying COVID-esque symptoms.