US court rejects Reza Zarrab’s bail application

Tolga Tanış - MIAMI

A U.S. court has rejected the bail application of shady Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab, who was arrested in Florida on charges of fraud and violating international sanctions on Iran.

U.S. judge John O’Sullivan rejected Zarrab’s bail request in a hearing which lasted five minutes.

The prosecutor’s office has also demanded the confiscation of all Zarrab’s property related to the accusations of bank fraud and money laundering in the indictment.

The indictment also detailed a letter to the head of Iranian Central Bank written on behalf of Zarrab, which stated that the Zarrab family was ready to wage “economic jihad” against the U.S. sanctions.

It has also been announced that Zarrab will be kept at a federal prison until the next hearing in the case, scheduled for April 4.

Meanwhile, a U.S. judicial authority told daily Hürriyet that the process could take a long time even if Zarrab’s file is transferred rapidly to New York from Miami.

Zarrab was arrested in Florida on March 21 on charges of conspiracy to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars in financial transactions for the Iranian government or other entities to evade U.S. sanctions. He had been at the center of massive corruption allegations embroiling senior Turkish government figures in December 2013.