Turks riveted by sanctions trial in New York
▶ Revelations of high-level corruption and bribery in Turkey means packed courtroom
The case shines a light on the darkest reaches of Turkey’s government, exposing claims of bribery and corruption
Ender Ozgur has lived in the US for the past 25 years. He runs a fast-food chicken restaurant and grocery shop at the far end of Manhattan Island.
But for four days in the past week Mr Ozgur has left the running of his business to his partners and made the 45-minute train trip south to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan in time to find a seat on the public benches.
He is one of dozens of members of the Turkish diaspora who gather each morning to watch the trial of a banker accused of breaching US sanctions on Iran. Each gives the same reason for taking a seat.
“I come because I’m Turkish,” Mr Ozgur said.
Mehmet Hakan Atilla is accused of using his position at Turkey’s state-run HalkBank to design a system of money transfers to help Iran have access to cash.
The case is shining a light on some of the darkest reaches of the Turkish government, exposing claims of bribery and corruption hidden behind front companies and fake deals that prosecutors say reach the highest levels of government.
The prosecution’s main witness has been giving evidence for the past week. Reza Zarrab, 34, a gold trader who has pleaded guilty to his role, described bribing a government minister.
Zarrab claimed that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed off on the involvement of two Turkish banks while he was prime minister.
New York’s federal court is picking up where the Turkish courts left off. At the end of 2013, Zarrab was swept up by Turkish authorities in a corruption investigation.
Mr Erdogan dismissed the inquiry as a “judicial coup” plotted by supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, but whose social movement is blamed for last year’s attempted coup.
Zarrab was released after 70 days and Mr Erdogan launched a purge of Gulenists from the police and judicial system.
For Turks in New York, the trial offers a chance to find out the real story.
“The court at home said it was all lies, it wasn’t true. But I trust this court,” said Mr Ozgur from his position in front of TV screens beaming the evidence to members of the public in courtroom 12D. “Now I want to see who’s telling the truth.”
The 17th-floor court has been filled every day and officials have had to add extra chairs in the overflow room five storeys lower. They include students in jeans and workers dressed for the city. Some take notes while others just soak it all up.
The big characters mean the trial has already taken on an air of political theatre. There were gasps when Zarrab described how he may have made as much as US$150 million (Dh550.9m) from his cut.
“It’s like a soap opera, you want to know what happens tomorrow,” said one woman. “But this is all real, and not in a good way.”
The main draw has been Zarrab. He answered questions in a patient manner, displaying the sort of charisma that made him a financial player in Turkey and won him a pop star wife.
“I used to hate this guy, but I don’t any more,” Mr Ozgur said. “He was just doing business. It’s the people he bribed – they are the ones I blame.”
The prosecution contends that Mr Atilla, the banker whose day job it was to understand international laws and sanctions, was the architect of the scam. Not many in the audience are buying it. They see bigger, broader forces at work.
A finance worker who came to one of the afternoon sessions said there had been little evidence to implicate Mr Atilla so far.
“This is big money and international politics,” he said. “Atilla is just the pawn.”