US opposes $50mn bail for Turkish-Iranian gold trader

NEW YORK, May 26, (RTRS): US prosecutors on Wednesday opposed a Turkish-Iranian gold trader’s request to be released on bail while he awaits trial for conspiring to violate US sanctions against Iran, saying his vast wealth makes him a flight risk.

Reza Zarrab has been in US custody since his arrest in Miami in March on charges that he conspired to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars in financial transactions to help the Iranian government or other entities evade US sanctions.

His lawyers last week asked a federal judge in Manhattan to release Zarrab on a $50 million bond and place him under house arrest. Prosecutors disputed their claim that that would be more than sufficient to assure his appearance in court.

“Zarrab’s proposed bail conditions are an attempt to use his tremendous wealth to obscure the flight risk through a façade of security that is beyond the reach of all but a small subset of fabulously wealthy defendants,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Prosecutors said Zarrab, a dual citizen of Turkey and his native Iran, had already misled officials about his assets, which they said include businesses with billions of dollars in annual transactions, and several homes and yachts.

Prosecutors also said Zarrab has used his wealth to buy access to corrupt politicians in Turkey, pointing to his 2013 arrest in that country on charges that he bribed high-level officials to facilitate transactions benefiting Iran.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister who US prosecutors said has “close ties” to Zarrab, cast the case as a coup attempt orchestrated by his political enemies.