WSJ: Russia attempted to establish a "dollar offshore" in Turkey.

It is claimed that through "Gazprombank," which was not under U.S. sanctions at the time, the Russian side managed to transfer over 5 billion dollars to an account at Turkey's largest bank, "Ziraat," officially as a loan for the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, with the mediation of two American banks — JPMorgan and Citigroup. The next payment of 2 billion was blocked by JPMorgan at the insistence of the U.S. Treasury. The funds remain frozen to this day. According to reports in 2024, U.S. authorities were prepared to confiscate these funds, alleging they were used to circumvent sanctions. However, this idea was abandoned due to concerns about damaging relations with Turkey. The article suggests, citing sources, that the current head of Turkey's intelligence agency, Ibrahim Kalin, was involved in the described scheme.

A representative of the Russian corporation Rosatom, which is involved in the construction of the nuclear power plant, stated that all the money transferred to Turkey was indeed intended for construction. He acknowledged that part of the funds had been "unjustly frozen due to the interference of third parties" and expressed hope for a resolution to this situation.

According to sources from the WSJ, the U.S. Treasury believes that the funds sent to Turkey were not for the construction of the nuclear power plant, but rather as an "offshore dollar reserve" to finance projects of the Russian authorities amid the freezing of Central Bank assets and other Western sanctions. It is alleged that the highest-ranking Russian officials, including Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina, played a role in developing this scheme. The newspaper claims that a motivating factor for Turkey was the influx of dollars into its financial system.

Representatives from the Central Bank, "Gazprombank," and "Ziraat" bank did not respond to inquiries from the publication, which notes that Turkey, unlike other U.S. NATO allies, did not impose sanctions against Russia. U.S. sanctions against Gazprombank were only introduced in November 2024, and Rosatom is still not on the sanctions list.

The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in southern Turkey is being built by a subsidiary of Rosatom. The commissioning of the first power unit is scheduled for 2025. In the summer of 2022, media reported on the signing of a loan agreement for 9 billion dollars between "Gazprombank" and the Turkish subsidiary of Rosatom. This agreement, as claimed by the WSJ, was used to create a "dollar offshore."