Jury Starts Deliberations for a Verdict Against Turkish Banker in US Case

Jury deliberations to decide whether Turkish banker in a trial over charges of subverting the U.S. sanctions against Iran is guilty or not are currently taking place in a Manhattan court.

Judge Richard Berman gave instructions to the jurors about direct evidence and circumstantial evidence and how they would proceed during the deliberations. Then the jurors gathered in a deliberation room to discuss the case.

Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive in state-owned Halkbank in Turkey, is the only defendant appearing at the court in a case that involves former Turkish Economy Minister and former Halkbank general manager.

Turkish-Iranian gold trade Reza Zarrab‘s flip paved the way for U.S. prosecutors to charge Mr. Atilla with orchestrating and designing a gold trade to skirt U.S. sanctions.

The gold trade scheme helped Iran make its international payments through Turkish Halkbank. Mr. Zarrab and a former Turkish police investigator’s testimonies in the court appeared to be damaging for the banker.

But his defense attorneys again demanded a mistrial on Tuesday, suggesting the prosecution’s invocation of a Turkish document against Mr. Atilla in the court is unacceptable.