There are more than 50 secret files in the Reza Zarrab case

The addition of two new secret files after a long time in the Reza Zarrab case in the US, “Is it a sign of new developments in the case?” led to the question.

According to the news from Voice of America Turkish’s Can Kamiloğlu, two new confidential files were added to the case last week, after a long silence in the Reza Zarrab case that began in 2015. Thus, the number of files entered with reserve since the initiation of the case exceeded 50. In the Zarrab case, a total of 722 entries have been made to the file since 2015.

A total of three transactions were made in the case in June and March 2022, only two of which were confidential files. The lawyers noted that there could be news in the Zarrab case, with two confidential files re-entering the case file after a long time.

Reza Zarrab, a citizen of Iran and Turkey, was arrested in the US on money laundering charges in 2016 and released after the deal he made. Former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, former Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla and Halkbank were added as defendants in the case, which drew attention from Turkish and American media.

Reza Zarrab appeared in the US state of Florida the previous year.

During Hakan Atilla’s legal process, Zarrab accepted all the accusations against him and was heard as a witness in the hearings. The contention that Halkbank, which was added to the case file as a defendant in 2019, could not be tried in the US as a public institution was rejected by lower courts, and Halkbank appealed to the US Constitutional Court. as a last resort. The US Constitutional Court heard the parties at the hearing held on January 17 and announced that it would make its final decision later.

‘ZARRAB MAY BE A WITNESS AGAIN’

According to the news from La Voz de América, among the different complaints that the lawyers drew attention to in the Reza Zarrab case, there is the possibility that Zarrab will sit on the witness stand again after a possible decision by the Constitutional Court. to start the legal process. from Halkbank.

The lawyers consider that Zarrab, who admitted all the accusations against him, is “quite surprising and outside the legal practice”, that he has not yet appeared before a judge, despite the age of 6, and that he has not received a sentence. for the charges. he he he accepted.

Under US criminal law, a defendant who confesses guilt must be punished for the crimes he admits to on a designated court date.

Another claim by the lawyers is that there may be new accusations and new names among the more than 50 secret files in the case file. The claims and arguments published by the Office of the Attorney General for the Southern District of New York regarding the Zarrab case included the names of some ministers who were serving at the time.

The lawyers also state that it is very likely that Zarrab’s confessions are still going on.