Rıza Sarraf Doesn’t Attend Critical Hearing

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Rıza Sarraf, who was arrested in the US on four different charges including bypassing sanctions against Iran and money laundering and facing up to 95 years in prison, and his lawyers didn’t attend the hearing held yesterday (November 16).

There was an interim hearing yesterday before the jury trial begins on November 27.

Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who is also facing up to 95 years in prison, and his lawyers were present in the court.

Judge Richard Berman rejected Atilla’s lawyers’ objection to the final indictment.

Çavuşoğlu: We sent another note when we couldn’t get any news

The discussions as to whereabouts of Sarraf still continue. A few hours after Vice Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Bekir Bozdağ’s statement that “We’ve received an oral response from the US, Sarraf’s health condition is fine”, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made a statement.

Minister Çavuşoğlu declared that they sent two notes, not one to the US.

“3-4 days have passed. We got no news from the US. As of yesterday, our friends sent another note asking ‘We’ve asked you via a note but didn’t receive any response from you”.

Trial of Rıza Sarraf

Rıza Sarraf was arrested on December 21 within the scope of December 17-25 corruption and bribery investigation. He was released after 70 days of imprisonment.

Iranian businessperson Babek Zencani, pointed as Sarraf’s partner in Iran was sentenced to capital punishment on charge of corruption on March 6, 2016.

Zencani has companies in Turkey too. Kont Group Cosmetics in Beşiktaş district of İstanbul is one of them. Zencani is also allegedly linked with Onur Air. Zencani’s attorneys in the past few days had stated in the lawsuit they brought in İstanbul that Onur Air belongs to them.

Zencani is associated with Rıza Sarraf frequently during this period. In the report prepared by inspectors of the Ministry of Customs and Trade, a relation between the two has been mentioned.

Sarraf had been taken into custody in Miami city airport while trying to enter the United States and arrested on March 22.

On his first hearing on April 27, Sarraf facing up to 95 years of imprisonment denied the accusations of conspiring to evade US sanctions against Iran, money laundering and bank fraud. (PT/TK)