Fruitless Efforts of Turkish Justice Minister for the Release of Zarrab from U.S. Prison

On Thursday, November 6, the Turkish Justice Minister announced that he officially discussed the case of Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish businessman imprisoned in the United States, with his American counterpart and called for his release. Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney General, has not commented on this matter yet, but according to a statement from her department released on Thursday, it seems that the Turkish minister's efforts have not yielded results at least for now. According to statements from Bekir Bozdağ, the Turkish minister, reflected in Turkish media including Cumhuriyet, he discussed Mr. Zarrab's situation with Loretta Lynch last Wednesday. Mr. Bozdağ was in the U.S. to negotiate the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, who is accused by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of orchestrating the failed coup in Turkey. However, the fact that the release of Reza Zarrab was the second request of this Turkish minister after negotiating about Gülen seems to be further evidence of Zarrab's significant importance to Mr. Erdoğan and his close relationship with the Turkish President's family. Mr. Zarrab is known in Iran for his economic ties with Babak Zanjani, a billionaire close to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, who is currently imprisoned in Iran. Reza Zarrab, who was arrested in Miami, USA, last March, is accused of planning to circumvent Iran's sanctions, deceiving American banks, and laundering money by helping Iranian companies transfer funds through American institutions. The Turkish Justice Minister's request regarding Reza Zarrab was made about a week after a federal judge in the U.S. rejected requests to dismiss the charges against him and effectively ruled for his continued imprisonment in the country. As Turkish media reported on Thursday, Bekir Bozdağ emphasized in his conversation with Ms. Lynch that Reza Zarrab is a 'Turkish citizen and has complied with Turkish laws regarding gold transactions [with Iran].' This senior official in Erdoğan's government also pointed out a matter that Mr. Erdoğan had previously raised: that Zarrab's trial has become political. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, announced earlier in October that he had raised the issue of Reza Zarrab in a conversation with the U.S. Vice President and attributed the federal officials involved in his case to Fethullah Gülen. Continuing this approach, Bekir Bozdağ also stated on Thursday: 'This trial [of Zarrab] is being used to tarnish the name of our President and his wife [Emine Erdoğan].' In response to these accusations against U.S. justice officials, according to a report from a Turkish news website, the U.S. Department of Justice stated in a statement published on its website on Thursday that 'the Department of Justice [of the U.S.] does not open cases for political reasons.' After Reza Zarrab's case came to court in Turkey and then in the United States, media reported that he had financially supported a non-profit educational center in Turkey linked to Emine, the President's wife.