Reza Zarrab told a New York court on Wednesday that he had bribed Zafer Caglayan in order to facilitate illegal gold transactions with sanctions-hit Iran. Gold trader tells US court: I paid ex-Turk minister over Iran dealsBut Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said “Zarrab has become a slanderer under pressure” during an interview with state-run news agency Anadolu. The gold trader had spent 70 days in custody in Turkey over the scandal, but all suspects arrested in the probe were subsequently released. Bozdag denounced the Manhattan federal court trial as “theatre” and indicated it was a plot against the government which the main opposition party in Turkey was a part of. Both of them are targeting Turkey and the president’s government,” said Bozdag, also government spokesperson, adding that Kilicdaroglu’s claims were “slander”.

Source: The Express Tribune November 30, 2017 11:26 UTC