Trump ally Giuliani to defend alleged Iran sanctions violator — report

A Turkish-Iranian gold mogul accused of violating US sanctions on Iran has reportedly added former New York City mayor and Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani to his legal team.

Reza Zarrab, 33, was charged last year with conspiring to evade US sanctions against Iran, accused of using shell companies to process hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions on behalf of Iranian businesses and the government.

According to The New York Times, Zarrab has retained Giuliani along with former attorney general Michael Mukasey to his defense team.

Zarrab, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, is scheduled to go on trial in New York in October.

He is accused of playing a key role in helping Iran evade sanctions that had been designed to thwart the country’s nuclear program and efforts to carry out terror attacks against Israelis and others.

US President Donald Trump, who counts Giuliani as a close adviser, has been a strident critic of the nuclear deal with Iran that lifted some of the sanctions in exchange for curbs on the nuclear program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who meets with Giuliani during his frequent trips to Israel, has also been a vocal critic of the deal, calling for sanctions to be put back in place or ramped up.

Giuliani’s close ties to Trump have raised questions over whether Zarrab retained him in an effort to negotiate a favorable outcome for his case at the highest level of the administration.

Giuliani was a staunch Trump supporter during the campaign but does not have a job in the administration. The former mayor made headlines earlier this year after he told media outlets that he advised Trump on his controversial executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The addition of Giuliani and Mukasey to the defense team has also raised concerns of a conflict of interest, as both of their firms also represent several banks Zarrab allegedly used to make the illegal transactions.

Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim has sent a letter warning the judge, Richard M. Berman, of Giuliani and Mukasey’s potential interest in the case.

Kim requested a hearing be held on the issue before the trial begins.

In response, Zarrab’s lead attorney, Benjamin Brafman, argued to the judge that a pre-trial hearing was unnecessary, saying Giuliani and Mukasey’s role in the case wouldn’t involve any trial preparations, and neither attorney would appear in court.

According to The Times, Giuliani and Mukasey last month traveled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on behalf of Zarrab.