A New York federal judge on Thursday ordered more briefing on the question of whether there are conflicts of interest for legal leviathans Michael Mukasey and Rudy Giuliani related to their representation of Turkish-Iranian financier Reza Zarrab, who is accused of helping Iran dodge U.S. sanctions.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan asked prosecutors and a defence lawyer to submit additional information to the court before he decides if Reza Zarrab can keep his attorneys despite potential conflicts of interest, AP news agency reported.
"I need to know who is looking out for Mr. Zarrab at any negotiation Mr. Giuliani or Mr. Mukasey might be engaged in," Berman said. "It's of concern to me."
Giuliani and Mukasey met with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and have said they intend to speak with U.S. officials to see if the case can be resolved outside court.
Giuliani, the city's Republican mayor from 1994 to 2001, served as a close adviser to Trump and frequently spoke at his campaign rallies last year.
At a bail hearing last year, prosecutors said criminal charges brought against Zarrab in Turkey in 2013 were dropped after Erdoğan, then Turkey's prime minister reportedly applied political pressure that resulted in the firing of prosecutors in Turkey who brought the charges. Prosecutors said those charges pertained to a massive bribery scheme allegedly executed by Zarrab and others involving the payment of tens of millions of dollars to cabinet-level government officials and high-level bank officers to facilitate Zarrab's transactions benefiting Iran.
Zarrab, also known by the name Rıza Sarraf, the Iranian tycoon, who changed his name from Reza Zarrab after he took Turkish citizenship in 2007. He and Turkish President Erdoğan were photographed on stage together at one public function and met at a wedding in Ankara. After Zarrab was arrested in December 2013 in Turkey, Erdoğan told reporters that his gold-dealing had "contributed to the country."
In an interview with television channel A Haber, after his case were dropped in Turkey, Zarrab estimated he had facilitated the transfer of about $12 billion in gold -- about 200 tons -- to Iran. That represented "about 15 percent-15.5 percent of the [Turkey's] current account deficit that I closed by myself," he said.
Zarrab was arrested while on holiday in Florida with his wife and daughter in 2016. The arrest threatens to reopen a case that reached right into Erdoğan’s inner circle and to tarnish the party that he founded.
The question of potential conflicts of interest arose weeks ago when prosecutors pointed out that Giuliani and Mukasey both worked for law firms that have represented banks considered victims in the Zarrab case.
Giuliani's law firm is registered as a foreign agent for Turkey.
Attorney Ben Brafman, Zarrab's courtroom lawyer, said neither Giuliani nor Mukasey ever individually represented Turkey.
