Reza Zarrab

Three of aides of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab were arrested in Istanbul on Dec. 15 on charges of “espionage,” accused of trying to send documents to a New York court handling the case into a former Turkish banker accused of taking part in a scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions.

Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab was forced to confess, according to Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, who has said members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) are involved in the case.

Reza Zarrab - the key witness in a New York trial over alleged skirting of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran - has been accused of sexually assaulting a cellmate, according to a lawsuit filed on Dec. 6.Reza Zarrab - the key witness in a New York trial over alleged skirting of U.S.

Turkish officials on Dec. 7 seized a private jet at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport belonging to Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, who became a key witness in the case of Turkish bank executive Hakan Atilla tried over evading U.S. sanctions on Iran.

A Turkish bank executive on trial in New York over violating U.S. sanctions on Iran has denied having links with Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab in his first interrogation after being arrested in the U.S.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has claimed that the New York trial of former Halkbank Executive Hakan Atilla is “biased and political,” adding that that the key witness of the case, Reza Zarrab, should be tried in Turkey.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Dec. 5 called on the government to set up a committee at parliament to investigate the case of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, currently a witness in a New York court case on evading sanctions on Iran.

Police in Istanbul detained a total of 17 suspects on Dec. 5 as part of an investigation into Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab, who testified at the trial of former Halkbank executive Hakan Atilla in the U.S. over evading sanctions on Iran.

Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab planned to move to Dubai if he is released in the U.S., according to a hand-written note seized from one of his aides.

Turkish President Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would not succumb to "blackmail" by the United States in the trial of a Turkish bank executive being charged with evading US sanctions on Iran.