Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader being tried in the United States over breach of now-lifted U.S. sanction against Iran, money laundering and other charges, said in a 9/2016 jailhouse call that he needed to lie in order to get out of the prison, or have a reduced sentence, courthouse reporter Pete Brush said, citing the defense letter in a tweet.
"A curious letter appeared, then disappeared, from the Mehmet Hakan Atilla docket over the last few hours. Atilla's lawyers told Judge Berman that US prosecutors did not meet their burden to turn over exculpatory evidence in a timely manner," he said.
Zarrab has now plead guilty and testifies as a witness at the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy CEO of state-owned Halkbank.
"Reza Zarrab supposedly said in a 9/2016 jailhouse call that he needed to lie "in order to get out or to get a reduced sentence," according to the defense letter. Mehmet Hakan Atilla's team says that shows Zarrab's 'willingness to fabricate testimony out of whole cloth,'" Brush detailed.
The reporter also said that Mehmet Hakan Atilla's team says the information suggests the prosecution violated Judge Berman's 11/28 order for the U.S. to turn over all exculpatory material and that "the failure should be deemed a violation of Atilla's right to due process."
Defense attorney Victor Rocco raised questions over Zarrab's credibility in his opening statement, saying the case was really about Zarrab's crimes.
He said Zarrab made a deal to get out of jail free, possibly joining the U.S. witness protection program so he and his family can live in the United States.
Atilla, who was arrested while in the U.S. in March 2017, has pled not guilty to the charges that accused him of conspiring with Zarrab.
Zarrab had stopped appearing in court weeks ago, prompting speculation he'd cut a deal and was cooperating with U.S. officials. A prosecutor said in court Tuesday that Zarrab would testify as part of a plea deal but gave no other details on it.
