Efforts, by two senior American political figures, working for Reza Zarrab, to fashion a favorable result for him, by seeking to arrange a deal, between the US & Turkey, appear to have completely failed, and most likely antagonized the US Attorney prosecuting the Iran sanctions evasion case, in the process. This information, which was gleaned by reviewing correspondence, between the prosecutors, the defense attorneys, and the Court, reveals a back-channel meeting, between the President of Turkey, and Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Mulkasey, which attempted an end run around the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York; it appears to have been unsuccessful.
REZA ZARRAB
Both Giuliani, the former Federal prosecutor and NY Mayor and Mulcasey, a former Federal Judge, and US Attorney General, were also reportedly meeting with certain American officials, obviously in the executive branch, and trying to craft some sort of international deal, which would meet the approval of Turkish President Recep Erdogen, and favor Zarrab in a big way.
Not only did their attempt fail, to date, but it excluded the US Attorney's Office in New York, who probably sees this effort as a back door attempt to minimize, Zarrab's sentence, and probable required cooperation, in the indictment of additional individuals, who aided and abetted him in evading global sanctions on Iranian oil, and in laundering the proceeds of their criminal enterprise. A settlement, between the US & Turkey, could result in Zarrab's transfer to Turkey, and zero assistance to US law enforcement. It is believed that prosecutors intend to seek a long sentence for Zarrab, which he can only reduce through rendering Substantial Assistance, in the indictment of others, or actions which would result in the US recovering major criminally-derived assets and wealth. Will there be additional indictments ? Obviously yes, if the US Attorney has anything to say about it.
A smoky, backroom deal, that would allow Zarrab to go free, is not in the best interests of the United States, and how two of America's most respected lawyers could get involved in orchestrating it, representing a major sanctions evader and money launderer, is hard to understand, and you can bet that the Federal prosecutors handling the case are unhappy about their circuitous attempts to accomplish it, and even more determined to prevail at trial.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant
