Erdogan: The American Judge in the Reza Zarrab Case Was a Guest of the Gulen Movement

The President of Turkey has stated that during a meeting with the U.S. Vice President, he mentioned that the judge and prosecutor in the case of Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish businessman, were previously 'guests' of the Fethullah Gulen movement, a critic of Erdogan's government. Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said that he discussed Mr. Zarrab's case with Joe Biden. Reza Zarrab, 33, was arrested in Miami, USA, last March; the judge in his case is Richard Berman and the prosecutor is Preet Bharara. He faces charges such as evading sanctions against Iran. This businessman was also arrested in Turkey in the fall of 2013 on charges of money laundering and financial corruption, along with several children of members of Erdogan's government at the time, but was released shortly after. According to Hurriyet newspaper, Erdogan told Biden that 'the U.S. Department of Justice has sent the case to a court whose judge and prosecutor were previously guests of FETO (the Gulen movement). In other words, the U.S. Department of Justice has handed Zarrab's case to those who were hosted by FETO.' He added, 'I told Biden. He said he was not aware of this. They are looking for something else in their relations, not for the [execution of] law.' These remarks were made on October 4 during the Turkish President's return flight from the United Nations General Assembly, but were published on October 5. U.S. officials have yet to respond to these statements. Joe Biden had met with Turkish officials in September and told them to show patience regarding Gulen's extradition to ensure that 'all the requirements of the law are met.' Erdogan's government considers Fethullah Gulen and his associated movement to be the orchestrators of the failed coup attempt in July. Gulen resides in the U.S., and Ankara has expressed dissatisfaction on several occasions regarding his non-extradition. Reza Zarrab is an Iranian-Turkish businessman whose name has been mentioned in the context of a government corruption case in Turkey, bribery, and evading Iran's nuclear sanctions. Following the exposure of his 87 billion euro money laundering scheme, dozens were arrested on charges of bribery, collaboration, or illegal money transfers and gold smuggling in Turkey. Erdogan dismissed dozens of senior police officials because the issue had been kept from him for a year. He stated in January 2014 that this case was 'a conspiracy to undermine Turkey's independence and progress.' In his recent remarks to reporters, Erdogan also referred to the NGO 'TUGEM' (Social Development Center) and stated that neither he nor his wife is the founder of this organization. In June of this year, it was reported that a charity, 'belonging to Emine Erdogan,' the wife of the Turkish President, received more than 4 million dollars from Reza Zarrab. The Turkish President claims that according to the laws of that country, Reza Zarrab has not committed any illegal acts and that Ankara will not be 'indifferent' to the arrest of a Turkish citizen abroad. Erdogan stated that there are 'malicious intentions' in Zarrab's case and that his name has been mentioned in the indictment. Richard Berman, a federal judge in Manhattan, New York, rejected Mr. Zarrab's request for a 50 million dollar bail, stating that he might flee to countries like Turkey and Iran, which do not have extradition treaties with the U.S. According to this federal judge, the charges against Reza Zarrab are serious.