Turkish officials seize Reza Zarrab’s private jet at Istanbul airport
ISTANBUL
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.
On Dec. 1, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to seize the assets of Zarrab and those of his acquaintances as part of an investigation against him.
His offices in Istanbul had already been closed after the ruling.
Six days after the ruling, officials from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office arrived at the airport’s main apron, seizing the Challenger 300 type jet belonging to the ARE Aviation company owned by Zarrab.
The private jet was reportedly last used on Nov. 30.
Separately, it was also reported that proceedings were launched to seize Zarrab’s Malta-flagged luxurious yacht worth 7 million euros in the Aegean resort of Bodrum.
The yacht named “60 years” had been at the shipyard of the Bodrum Port for about the last one and a half year.
