Reza Zarrab

Reza Zarrab
Born Reza Zarrab
(1983-09-12) 12 September 1983
Tabriz, Iran
Residence Istanbul, Turkey
Citizenship Turkey[1]
Azerbaijan[2]
Iranian
Years active 2004–present
Spouse(s) Ebru Gündeş (2010–2016, divorce)
Children Alara Sarraf

Reza Zarrab (Persian: رضا ضراب‎‎, Turkish: Rıza Sarraf;[3] 1983 in Tabriz, Iran) is a Turkey-based businessman. He has triple Iranian, Azerbaijani[2] and Turkish citizenship,[4] while also holding a Macedonian passport.[5][6]

On 19 March 2016 he was arrested in the United States and charged with money laundering among other allegations,[4] in an alleged racket scheme to help Iran bypass US sanctions against the country, involving ministers of the Turkish government of then prime minister and now president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[7][8]

Early life

Zarrab was born in Tabriz to Iranian Azerbaijani parents[9] and grew up in Azerbaijan and Turkey.[1] Reza Zarrab became a dual citizen of Turkey and Republic of Azerbaijan after settling in Istanbul.[2] Zarrab's parents remained in Baku through 2010-11; in 2013 they were granted Turkish citizenship reportedly through facilitation of then Interior Minister Muammer Güler. [10]

2013 corruption scandal in Turkey

Zarrab, who has business affiliation with the Iranian tycoon Babak Zanjani, was detained in Istanbul on 17 December 2013 due to his involvement with the sons of three ministers (Erdoğan Bayraktar, Muammer Güler and Zafer Çağlayan) in the Turkish government and Egemen Bağış, the former minister for EU Affairs and Turkey's chief negotiator in accession talks with the European Union,[11][12][13] in an alleged bribery, corruption and smuggling racket.[14] The court ordered his arrest on 21 December along with Barış Güler, son of Muammer Güler, and Kaan Çağlayan, son of Zafer Çağlayan.[15] He was released on 28 February 2014.[16]

The investigation in Turkey revealed a system to help Iran bypass US sanctions against the country concerning the SWIFT payment system, in a scheme based on Turkish public bank Halkbank, whereby money was transferred to front companies in China and Turkey, and gold bought with that money transferred to Iran via Dubai.[7]

Arrest in the United States

On 19 March 2016, Zarrab was arrested in Miami, Florida for conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran (by using his gold business to help Iran’s government evade the sanctions),[8] money laundering and bank fraud. The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys of the Southern District of New York, led by Preet Bharara,[8] with assistance from a trial attorney of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.[4]

During the case, prosecutors have noted that Zarrab donated $4.5 million to a charity founded by Emine Erdoğan, the wife of former prime minister and now president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[8] Prosecutors stated that Zarrab has "close ties" to Erdogan.[17]

After Zarrab's arrest, shares in Halkbank, whose CEO was among those charged with taking bribes from Zarrab, have fallen by 20%.[8] He has offered to pay $50 million to achieve bail.[8] Bail has been denied.[18] In their brief against granting bail, prosecutors had argued that "if the defendant were able to reach Turkish soil, he could cause the highest levels of Turkish government to block his return to the United States."[8]

Personal life

Zarrab is married to the Turkish singer Ebru Gündeş. They have one child together. Ebru Gündeş reportedly filed for divorce in September 2016.[19]

Export award

In June 2015, Zarrab received the Turkish Export Award jointly from the hands of Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş, Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekçi, and President of the Turkish Exporters Council Mehmet Büyükekşi, in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[20][21]

See also


References

  1. 1 2 Pamuk, Humeyra (29 April 2014). "Special Report - Golden Loophole: How an alleged Turkish crime ring helped Iran". Reuters. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "ایرانی بازداشت شده در ترکیه 'در مورد دور زدن تحریم‌ها بازجویی شده بود'". BBC Persian. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  3. ↑ "Yolsuzluk operasyonu, Reza Zarrab kimdir". Haberturk.com. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Turkish National Arrested for Conspiring to Evade U.S. Sanctions Against Iran, Money Laundering and Bank Fraud". US Department of Justice. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Turkey corruption allegations included in Reza Zarrab case in US". Hürriyet Daily News. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. ↑ https://www.turkishminute.com/2016/06/16/ny-court-denies-bail-iranian-mogul-zarrab-announces-us-attorney-bharara/
  7. 1 2 "Is corruption suspect's US arrest bad news for Erdogan?". Al-Monitor. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Iran's Turkish connection: Golden squeal: Did officials help evade sanctions?". The Economist. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  9. ↑ "حاشیه‌های بازداشت تاجر ایرانی در ترکیه؛ از بابک زنجانی تا مشایی". Iran Wire. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  10. ↑ "Zarrab's father given citizenship via 'exceptional status'". Zaman Daily News. 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
  11. ↑ "Üç bakana rüşvet suçlaması". Radikal. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  12. ↑ "Yolsuzluk ve rüşvet soruşturmasında Egemen Bağış görüntüleri de çıktı!". T24. 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  13. ↑ "To This Tycoon, Iran Sanctions Were Like Gold". New York Times. 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  14. ↑ "İstanbul'da yolsuzluk ve rüşvet operasyonu". Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  15. ↑ "2 Bakan oğlu ile Reza Zarrab tutuklandı". Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  16. ↑ "Turkey frees cabinet ministers' sons". bbc.com. Retrieved 2014-08-17.
  17. ↑ "US prosecutors say businessman with 'close ties' to Turkey's Erdogan poses flight risk". Deutsche Welle. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  18. ↑ https://www.turkishminute.com/2016/06/16/ny-court-denies-bail-iranian-mogul-zarrab-announces-us-attorney-bharara/
  19. ↑ "Erdogan sees 'ulterior motives' in U.S. case against gold trader". Reuters. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  20. ↑ "دولت ترکیه به رضا ضراب جایزه داد +عکس". Mashregh. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  21. ↑ "Reza Zarrab'a ihracat ödülü" [Export award for Reza Zarrab]. Hürriyet. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
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