Treasury Lifts Sanctions on Turkish National Who Aided Russia’s Illegal War on Ukraine

A Turkish entrepreneur conducting extensive trade with Russia is the subject of an unusual decision by the U.S. Treasury Department to lift sanctions against him and three of his companies. 

Berk Turken and his firms were originally designated for their combined role in “enabling Russian intelligence services to procure technology for sanctioned Russian entities.” A businessman with no known ties to the Turkish government, Turken and his sanctioned companies specialize in digital technologies and artificial intelligence services utilized by Russia’s defense industrial base. 

Turken is an example of the Turkish business elites who have benefited from a permissive environment provided by a Turkish government willing to overlook breaches of international sanctions against Moscow. Treasury’s March 18 decision to lift sanctions on Turken and his businesses offers a potential lifeline to strengthen Moscow’s procurement capabilities in the digital technology arena, helping to facilitate Vladimir Putin’s ongoing illegal war against Ukraine. 

No Explanation Provided by Treasury for Lifting Sanctions on Turken and His Companies

Treasury officials offered no explanation for their decision to lift existing sanctions on Turken and three Turkish entities of which he is the sole owner — Turken Dijital Matbaa, BSB Grup Internet ve Yapay Zeka, and BSB Grup. 

BSB Grup was linked to efforts supporting Russia’s sanctioned technology procurement networks. Turken Digital facilitated transactions for Russian intelligence-linked entities seeking restricted technology, including coordinating payment and logistics arrangements designed to circumvent sanctions and move goods from Turkey into Russia. 

In particular, Turken Digital worked with the U.S.-designated Russian limited liability company TBS and Russian businessman Andrey Vladimirovich Timoshin — both sanctioned in May 2023 — to enable these transfers. TBS, a Moscow-based technology company specializing in microelectronics testing systems, has been used by Russian intelligence services to process payments and ship equipment for domestic clients. Timoshin, acting in coordination with TBS and other entities, procured semiconductor and nanotechnology production equipment on behalf of sanctioned Russian end users, with his activities directed by Russian intelligence.

Turkey’s Proven Track Record of Aiding Russia’s War Effort

Turkish entities have an established track record of providing material support to Russia’s defense industrial base.

The Biden administration engaged in a systematic effort to sanction a number of Turkish entities identified as supporters of Russia’s war against Ukraine. In September 2023, five Turkish entities were sanctioned by Treasury and the U.S. State Department for facilitating sanctions evasion by Russian companies supporting Russia’s military or defense industrial base. Specifically, the companies were identified as supplying Russian firms with high-priority components used in Russian drones, missiles, and other weapons systems banned under a list maintained by the U.S. Commerce Department.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and its Western partners tightened sanctions and export controls aimed at degrading Moscow’s defense industrial capacity. Turkey chose not to align with these measures, citing economic losses that would follow from implementing sanctions against one of its biggest trading partners. 

Consequently, the Biden administration’s Treasury Department, by sanctioning Turkish entities and issuing formal warnings to Ankara, underscored Turkey’s role as a key conduit through which Russia circumvents Western sanctions. Turkey has therefore sustained Moscow’s war effort even as it continues to provide military and political support to Ukraine.

Washington has consistently pressed Turkish authorities to curb these sanctions-evasion networks. While reports last spring suggested Ankara began taking limited corrective steps, enforcement has remained uneven.

Treasury should publicly articulate transparent benchmarks for delisting designated individuals and entities, including verifiable cessation of illicit activity, cooperation with U.S. authorities, and a demonstrable break from sanctioned networks. Absent this clarity, premature delisting risks undermining deterrence and signaling permissiveness to other sanctions evaders. 

Without stronger enforcement and clearer consequences, Turkey will continue to function as a key node in Russia’s sanctions evasion architecture. U.S. policy must shift from reactive designation toward systematic disruption of the networks enabling Moscow’s war machine — including those operating within allied jurisdictions.

Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Sinan and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Sinan on X @SinanCiddi. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.