Halk Bankası

An ongoing court case in the United States about Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab over claims that he violated U.S. sanctions on Iran through Turkish banks and financial institutions is nothing but a political plot against Turkey, a senior government official has said, a week before the key jury trial.

Neither jailed Iranian-Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab nor his lawyer attended a court hearing in Manhattan on Nov. 16 to discuss the case ahead of the trial. 

Jailed Iranian-Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab is in good condition, the United States has informed Turkish authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on Nov. 16.

Turkey has sent a note to U.S. authorities inquiring about the condition of gold trader Reza Zarrab, held in the United States awaiting trial on charges of evading U.S. sanctions on Iran, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said on Nov. 15.

A trader accused of helping Iran evade sanctions invoked the name of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of a scheme that U.S. prosecutors say was supported by Turkey’s government, according to court documents.

Hakan Atilla, a deputy general manager of Halkbank who was arrested in the U.S. in March on charges of cooperating with Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab in order to evade sanctions against Iran, has requested that a total of 15 Turkish witnessed be listened to by the court.   

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet on Sept. 21 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and discuss the case of a former Turkish minister, according to Erdoğan. 

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said a person who had once served as a minister in Turkey being tried on corruption charges in another country was shameful, in remarks on the latest indictment against former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and three others accused of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. 

U.S. prosecutors charging former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan with conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran is a step taken against the Turkish Republic and is a political decision, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 8. 

U.S. prosecutors have charged a former Turkish economy minister and a former general manager of a state bank with conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran, with a Turkish minister defending his predecessor.