Turkish-Iranian gold dealer a US government witness in sanctions trial

Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab will testify for the prosecution in a potentially explosive sanctions-busting trial that opened in New York on Tuesday amid inflamed US relations with Ankara, a federal prosecutor said.

The prosecutor, David Denton, made it clear that Zarrab would be the star witness as the government lays out its case against Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, accused of violating sanctions against Iran, bribery and money laundering.

"You will hear it from the inside, from Reza Zarrab. He has pleaded guilty to violating US laws and he has decided to cooperate with the government," Denton told the jury.

The case has angered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government alleges that the charges are the product of a conspiracy led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING

On Tuesday, Turkish authorities were reported to have issued arrest warrants for two individuals who appeared on the witness list in the New York case, accusing them of providing "fake reports" to US prosecutors.

Zarrab, a 34-year-old gold dealer who was arrested in 2016 during a trip to Disney World, is alleged to have been at the center of a gold-for-oil operation that Washington alleges violated US sanctions.

Atilla, 49, is the sole defendant, but analysts believe revelations in the trial could implicate Turks close to Erdogan.

Denton suggested to jurors that Zarrab's testimony would shed light on a corruption case implicating top officials that Ankara has sought to smother since 2013.

He was held for more than two months in Turkey along with dozens of other politically connected figures in a case that Erdogan also saw as a bid by Gulen to bring him down.