Erdogan accuses US court of ‘ulterior motives’ in case

President says federal attorney took aim at him in prosecution of Turkish gold trader

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said US federal attorneys took aim at him in their prosecution of a Turkish gold trader accused of helping to violate sanctions against Iran, Turkish media reported yesterday.

US authorities arrested Reza Zarrab, a dual TurkishIranian national who has ties with high-ranking Turkish officials, in Miami in March on charges he helped Iran process millions of dollars of transactions when it faced US sanctions for its nuclear programme.

The 33-year-old businessman, who lived in Turkey, remains in custody in New York. He has pleaded not guilty.

US Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara’s office included in its indictment a corruption investigation in Turkey that targeted Zarrab, cabinet ministers and members of Erdogan’s family in late 2013. That probe had subsequently been dropped and prosecutors and investigators in the case re-assigned or sacked.

Private broadcaster NTV quoted Erdogan as telling a group of reporters he had raised Zarrab’s detention in talks with US Vice-President Joe Biden, whom he met in New York last week after speaking at the United Nations General Assembly.

‘Trying to implicate him’

Erdogan said US prosecutors were trying to implicate him by including in the indictment Zarrab’s donations to an educational charity called Togem that is linked to the president’s family.

“They are not pursuing the law, but are after a network of relationships. It’s interesting that the indictment refers to my wife setting up Togem and my ties with that association. My wife and I are not among the founders of that association.

“The effort to mention our names in court proves there are ulterior motives,” he said.