Cavusoglu: Reza Zarrab's Case is 'Fabricated' and has 'Political Motivation'

The Turkish Foreign Minister accused the United States of making 'fabricated' and 'politically motivated' allegations against Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish businessman. Zarrab has been accused of collaborating with the Iranian government to circumvent U.S. financial sanctions against that country. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Friday, November 17, in Istanbul during a press conference that he believes the basis of Zarrab's case in the U.S. is the same allegations that were made against him in Turkey in 2013 and later dropped. Zarrab is a wealthy gold trader who is said to have close ties with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government and is currently imprisoned in the U.S. Evidence revealed at that time showed that in the 2013 case, the Turkish prosecutor accused Zarrab and a group of senior Turkish officials of helping Iran transfer money through gold smuggling. Erdogan, who was Prime Minister at the time, described the case as a coup attempt by his political opponents. Several prosecutors were barred from continuing investigations into this case, which was later completely dismissed. Cavusoglu continued by saying, 'The allegations made against Reza Zarrab in the U.S. are exactly the same as those raised in the 2013 case. All those allegations were fabricated, and the cases that took place in Turkey have now been transferred to the U.S.' He identified followers of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish cleric residing in the U.S., as responsible for the 2013 case in Turkey and Zarrab's arrest and trial in the U.S. Erdogan holds Gülen and his supporters responsible for the failed coup last year. Cavusoglu also stated that the case against Zarrab in the U.S. 'has a strong political motivation' and emphasized that neither Zarrab nor Mehmet Hakan Atilla, another senior banking official who is a co-defendant in the case, have violated U.S. sanctions or any other laws. Zarrab and his lawyers have not attended several preliminary hearings related to this case taking place in New York, leading to speculation that he may be negotiating for a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors to reduce or avoid punishment. NBC News reported that Zarrab is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors regarding a money laundering case involving senior Turkish officials.