Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday he hoped a gold trader would backtrack after testifying against a Turkish banker accused of violating US sanctions against Iran.
His comments came after Turkish-Iranian mogul Reza Zarrab implied in New York testimony that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan knew how he and defendant Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank, circumvented sanctions on Iran and laundered money from Iranian petroleum sales.
"God willing, he will turn back from this mistake," Yildirim said in a speech in Istanbul. "He says it himself anyway that the easiest way out of prison is to swing the other way."
Zarrab, 34, was arrested in March 2016 before agreeing to be a witness for the prosecution in a potentially explosive trial of Turkish banker Atilla accused of violating US sanctions in a multi-million gold-for-oil scheme.
He said on Wednesday that he pleaded guilty in the hope of being released from prison as soon as possible.
Zarrab said he was told that in 2012, then prime minister Erdogan and then treasury minister Ali Babacan had given "instructions" for two other Turkish public banks, Vakif and Ziraat, to take part in the scheme.
On Wednesday, Zarrab admitted he bribed former economy minister Zafer Caglayan in order to facilitate illegal gold transactions with Iran.
Ankara has repeatedly branded the trial a "conspiracy" against Turkey while Erdogan on Thursday denied the country had violated any sanctions.
Yildirim said the trial was "no longer legal" and had become "completely political".
"The aim is to squeeze Turkey's economy, to put the Turkish economy into difficulty," he thundered.
Analysts say that if one or more Turkish banks are found guilty of breaching the sanctions and are fined, the Turkish economy could take a hit.
Yildirim again said the US judiciary was being exploited by followers of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who he accused of wanting to tarnish the image of Turkey and Erdogan.
Ankara accuses Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, of masterminding the July 2016 attempted overthrow of Erdogan. He denies the claim.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday he hoped a gold trader would backtrack after testifying against a Turkish banker accused of violating US sanctions against Iran.
His comments came after Turkish-Iranian mogul Reza Zarrab implied in New York testimony that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan knew how he and defendant Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank, circumvented sanctions on Iran and laundered money from Iranian petroleum sales.
“God willing, he will turn back from this mistake,” Yildirim said in a speech in Istanbul. “He says it himself anyway that the easiest way out of prison is to swing the other way.”
Zarrab, 34, was arrested in March 2016 before agreeing to be a witness for the prosecution in a potentially explosive trial of Turkish banker Atilla accused of violating US sanctions in a multi-million gold-for-oil scheme.
He said on Wednesday that he pleaded guilty in the hope of being released from prison as soon as possible.
Zarrab said he was told that in 2012, then prime minister Erdogan and then treasury minister Ali Babacan had given “instructions” for two other Turkish public banks, Vakif and Ziraat, to take part in the scheme.
On Wednesday, Zarrab admitted he bribed former economy minister Zafer Caglayan in order to facilitate illegal gold transactions with Iran.
Ankara has repeatedly branded the trial a “conspiracy” against Turkey while Erdogan on Thursday denied the country had violated any sanctions.
Yildirim said the trial was “no longer legal” and had become “completely political”.
“The aim is to squeeze Turkey’s economy, to put the Turkish economy into difficulty,” he thundered.
Analysts say that if one or more Turkish banks are found guilty of breaching the sanctions and are fined, the Turkish economy could take a hit.
Yildirim again said the US judiciary was being exploited by followers of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who he accused of wanting to tarnish the image of Turkey and Erdogan.
Ankara accuses Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, of masterminding the July 2016 attempted overthrow of Erdogan. He denies the claim.
