The fate of a Turkish banker accused of conspiring to help Iran evade US financial sanctions will soon rest with an American jury, which must choose between duelling portrayals of him as either the architect of an international money-laundering scheme or a "pawn" in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After more than three weeks of evidence, prosecutors and defence lawyers on Tuesday delivered their final pleas in the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a 47-year-old executive at Turkiye Bank Halkasi AS, a large state-owned Turkish bank that US authorities allege was the focus of the plot to aid Iran. Jurors in a Manhattan federal court are scheduled to begin deliberating on Wednesday.
Mr Atilla is accused of trying to help Iran tap billions of dollars in revenue from overseas oil sales from 2012 to 2016 that should have been beyond its reach, as the US increasingly tightened sanctions on the country in retaliation for its nuclear development programme and in an effort to force it to the negotiating table.
"It’s impossible to believe Mr Atilla had any doubt about what was going on at his bank," US prosecutor Michael Lockard said in urging jurors to find him guilty of conspiracy, money laundering and bank fraud. "Mr Atilla is guilty of the offences he’s charged with."
Nine people have been charged, including other Halkbank executives and Turkish government officials, but Mr Atilla was the only one on trial. Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab, who was once the chief defendant, pleaded guilty and testified against Mr Atilla in a bid for leniency. The other defendants have avoided US arrest.
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Read more:
Turkish banker denies helping Iran evade US sanctions
Gold trader tells court he made $150m from scheme to allow Iran to avoid US sanctions
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Mr Atilla’s lawyer, Victor Rocco, called the case "the Reza Zarrab show", saying prosecutors had presented extensive evidence about the involvement of Mr Zarrab and others but not enough to convincingly connect Mr Atilla to the scheme.
During seven days on the witness box, Mr Zarrab repeatedly implicated Mr Atilla, placing him in meetings where the sanctions-evasion plans were discussed and saying he devised key portions. Prosecutors also introduced wiretapped phone calls in which Mr Zarrab and others discussed Mr Atilla’s alleged role.
Still, Mr Atilla was at times a seemingly peripheral figure, and much of the government’s evidence against him was circumstantial. The US relied heavily on Mr Zarrab, who acknowledged lying to Mr Atilla in some instances and admitted that Mr Atilla didn’t know the full details of the conspiracy. In some wiretapped phone calls played for jurors, Mr Zarrab complained that Mr Atilla blocked transactions or inhibited the plot.
The defence also assailed Mr Zarrab as a liar.
But prosecutors pointed to at least six wiretapped calls directly between the two men as corroborating evidence. In one of them — about the need to make sure customs forms used to cover up transactions looked legitimate — Mr Atilla is heard saying to Mr Zarrab, "Tell your guys to make sure the numbers match".
Mr Atilla took the unusual step of testifying in his own defence, saying Mr Zarrab lied about his presence at meetings, and he denied any involvement.
"The decision to take the witness box by a defendant in a criminal case is not the act of a guilty man," Mr Rocco said. "It is the act of a man who believes he’s innocent and wants to proclaim his innocence to the entire world."
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How Sputnik V works
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
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New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
