Turkish authorities have ordered the arrest of gold dealer Reda Darab, who appeared as a witness in US courts in a case against a senior official of a Turkish government bank accused of collusion to help Iran defer US sanctions.
The 35-year-old Iranian-Turkish strike was seen by the US government in the trial of former deputy director-general of the Turkish Khalk Bank, Mohammad Khakan Attallah, who was convicted of helping Iran circumvent sanctions.
The Anatolia news agency reported on Monday that an Istanbul court had ordered a strike to be held for "illegal renovation work in its villa in Istanbul" as part of a possible three-year prison sentence.
He was arrested in the United States in 2016 and pleaded guilty last year to a charge that he had planned to help Iran violate US sanctions and testified as a witness in the Atallah case.
The agency said that a judge in Istanbul asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Turkish Consulate in New York, to consider the legal status of a strike.
The Bank of Khalk issue was one of the main points of contention between Ankara and Washington, whose relations deteriorated and entered the crisis stage this year due to a range of issues, including politics such as the attitude toward Syria and Turkey's defense procurement.
The bank denies the creation of any wrongdoing, and condemned the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the issue, saying it represents "a political attack on his government," according to Reuters news agency.
Erdogan said on Saturday that he had discussed the matter with US President Donald Trump, prompting the bank's shares to rise on Monday.
