In US trial watched by Erdogan, Turkish banker found guilty

A US jury on Wednesday found a Turkish banker guilty of helping Iran evade US sanctions, after a nearly four-week trial that has strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey.

Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkey's majority state-owned Halkbank, was convicted on five of six counts he faced, including bank fraud and conspiracy, in Manhattan federal court.

Atilla was also found not guilty on a money laundering charge. Jurors issued their verdict on the fourth day of deliberations.

Prosecutors had accused Atilla of conspiring with gold trader Reza Zarrab and others to help Iran escape sanctions using fraudulent gold and food transactions.

In several days on the witness stand, Zarrab had described a sprawling scheme that he said included bribes to Turkish government officials and was carried out with the blessing of...