Judge Allows Giuliani and Mukasey to Represent Zarab

The judge in Reza Zarab's case in New York has granted Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey permission to represent the Iranian-Turkish businessman, who is accused of circumventing sanctions against Tehran. Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and an advisor to Donald Trump during last year's election campaign, along with Mukasey, requested to take on Zarab's legal representation. Judge Richard Berman raised questions about potential 'conflicts of interest' regarding the representation of Zarab and legal work for foreign countries - Turkey or Iran - or the banks involved in the case during a hearing in mid-April. On June 10, Judge Berman announced that Reza Zarab is aware of the potential 'conflict of interest' arising from Giuliani's employment by the Turkish government and Mukasey's representation of several banks during the proceedings, and that he himself requested the hiring of Giuliani and Mukasey. Therefore, there are no obstacles to their representation of the detained businessman. Zarab is accused of abusing the U.S. financial and banking network for transactions with Iran, thus violating U.S. sanctions against Tehran. He has denied all charges up to this stage of the proceedings. Reports indicate that this Iranian-Turkish citizen has hired Giuliani and Mukasey with the aim of reaching some form of reconciliation and diplomatic solution regarding this case between the U.S. and Turkish governments. The proceedings for Zarab's case are set to begin in October, nearly two years after his arrest in the U.S. Giuliani and Mukasey will not represent the defendant during the court proceedings; they are actually trying to achieve a political agreement regarding the case. Both American lawyers had previously met and discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has openly called for a resolution to this case.