WSJ: Biden’s White House blocked the investigation of the circuit for bypassing sanctions between the Russian Federation and Turkey, afraid to “spoil relations with a difficult ally”

The US Department of Justice has discovered a large -scale circuit for bypassing sanctions, within the framework of which Russia transferred more than $ 5 billion to Turkey under the guise of financing the construction of an nuclear power plant. According to the sources of The Wall Street Journal, familiar with the situation, financial transactions continued to be carried out through American banks Jpmorgan Chase and Citigroup in 2022, after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the scheme was developed at the highest level in Moscow with the participation of the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina. The plan suggested the use of non -conquest organizations - Gazprombank and Rosatom - for transferring funds through the Turkish State Bank of Ziraat. About $ 3 billion were carried out through Citigroup, and more than $ 2 billion through JPMorgan. An additional $ 2 billion was blocked in JPMorgan accounts after transactions attracted the attention of American law enforcement officers.

In 2024, the US prosecutor’s office prepared a lawsuit to confiscate frozen funds, but the White House blocked this decision, fearing a deterioration in relations with Turkey - an important, albeit difficult ally. Particularly concerned caused a possible participation in the scheme of high -ranking Turkish officials, including the current head of intelligence, Ibrahim Kalyn, who at the time of transfer of funds served as presidential adviser to national security.

Representatives of Rosatom said that all funds allocated for the construction of the nuclear power plant were used for their intended purpose, including the payment of contractors and the fulfillment of social obligations in Turkey. The company also expressed hope for resolving the situation with blocked means. The Turkish Ministry of Energy refused comments. Now the decision to resume the case remains with the administration of Trump.

Earlier it became known that the State Corporation Rosatom in October 2024 was faced with the problem in the construction of Akkui’s first nuclear power plant in Turkey. The German company Siemens did not put the promised equipment due to sanctions. Russia solved this problem by ordering the missing equipment from Chinese manufacturers. In 2023, the Chinese news agency Sinhua reported that Siemens plans to invest 2 billion euros in expanding its production capacities, including 140 million euros in the province of Sichuan, China. The company produces products for the automation of production processes developed by Siemens.