Arrested Reza Zarrab was unaware of US probe: lawyer

Dinçer Gökçe – ISTANBUL

The Turkish lawyer of Iranian-born Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab, who has been arrested in Florida over Iran-related sanction charges, has said they were not expecting such an arrest and they were unaware of the investigation. 

Lawyer Şeyda Yılmaz also described all accusations against Zarrab as “defendable.” 

Speaking about the shock arrest that came late on March 22 when Zarrab was in the U.S. with his wife and daughter for a family vacation, Yılmaz said all charges in the indictment are “commerce-related and explainable issues, as they relate to the U.S. sanctions on Iran.”  

Yılmaz added that she and Zarrab were not aware of the investigation before his arrest and a team of lawyers is already in the U.S. to defend him.