The Zarrab case

There is a celebratory mood in anti-government circles in Turkey over the arrest in the U.S. of Reza Zarrab, the Turkish businessman of Iranian origin, who is reportedly also a citizen of Iran and Azerbaijan. He is charged with conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions and transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Iranian administration headed by then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

His alleged partner in Iran, Babak Zanjani, received the death penalty recently for defrauding the Iranian government of hundreds of millions of dollars. Zarrab was arrested in December 2013 in Turkey on corruption charges, which also implicated four key Justice and Development Party (AKP) ministers.

The charges against Zarrab were later dropped because the prosecutors pursuing the case were accused by the government of being from the Gülen group and trying to carry out a political coup in Turkey. 

The proper thing in any country with a respectable legal system is to assume the innocence of those charged until proven guilty. But the hasty manner in which the prosecutors involved in this case were dismissed, and the manner in which the case against Zarrab was dropped while the allegations against the former ministers was swept under the carpet, merely heightened public suspicions.

Zarrab insists he is innocent, but rather than opting to have his name cleared in court he preferred to take advantage of the cover provided by the government and what many believe is a co-opted judiciary. He went on to receive many accolades and awards from the AKP government honoring him for services rendered. 

Despite the fact that he enjoyed such protection, the notoriety attached to his name has never left.

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