Turkey asks US about jailed trader

Turkey has sent a note to US authorities inquiring about the condition of gold trader Reza Zarrab, held in the United States awaiting trial on charges of evading US sanctions on Iran, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said on Wednesday.

“Following media reports about Reza Zarrab, our Washington Embassy has officially requested information from US authorities, and have not yet received an answer,” the ministry spokesman’s office said. “We will follow up the issue.”

There was speculation in Turkish media after the US Federal Bureau of Prisons website showed that Zarrab was released from prison on 8 November.

However a spokesman for Acting US Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan said on Monday that Zarrab remained in federal custody.

“The information that Zarrab was released is not factual,” Zarrab’s lawyer Seyda Yildirim told Hurriyet newspaper on Wednesday.

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“He might have been moved to a different section. We haven’t been informed in five days, we are unable to receive any infomation.”

Zarrab has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sanctions evasion.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said US prosecutors have “ulterior motives” in the case, by including references to him and his wife in court papers.