Turkish businessman arrested in Austria to be extradited to US

By Askin Kiyagan

VIENNA (AA) - Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, a Turkish businessman currently in custody in Austria, will be extradited to the US on July 15.

Prosecutor Silke Enzlmüller from the press unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Austrian city of Wels, told Anadolu Agency that Korkmaz would be taken to the capital Vienna on Friday and then flown to the US.

The Austrian Ministry of Defense ruled on June 15 that Korkmaz would be extradited to the US on the grounds that the first of the crimes he is accused of was committed in the US and the majority of the victims are there.

Based on accusations of money laundering and fraud, search warrants with a red notice were issued by Turkish and American authorities for Korkmaz.

- Judiciary process

On May 17, 2021, a Turkish court in Istanbul ruled that Korkmaz be arrested in absentia over accusations of money laundering through companies linked to him and several other individuals, including three foreign nationals.

Wanted by the US and Türkiye, he was arrested on June 19 that year in a town 250 kilometers (155 miles) outside the Austrian capital.

Korkmaz was brought to Vienna and then sent back to Wels. There, a local court ruled on July 5, 2021 that he would remain arrested.

A statement released by the US Justice Department in mid-2021 said that Korkmaz laundered over $133 million in fraud proceeds through bank accounts that he controlled in Türkiye and Luxembourg.