Reza Zarrab's has proclaimed his willingness to lie in exchange for leniency, according to a letter submitted in court by the lawyers for Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who is charged with scheming to violate US sanctions against Iran. In a September 2016 recording, Zarrab is quoted as saying that there was a perceived need when incarcerated in the US to lie "in order to get out or to get a reduced sentence" and that "you need to admit to crimes you haven't committed" to get out of prison, the lawyers said.

Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab on Wednesday accepted all charges that he was accused of and agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy general manager of Turkey's Halkbank. The businessman was detained last year on charges of violating sanctions against Iran while Atilla was arrested in the US earlier this year on similar charges of sanctions violations. US prosecutors have charged nine people in the case, although only Zarrab and Atilla have been arrested by US authorities. The hearing began on Tuesday after US District Judge Richard Berman rejected a request by Atilla’s lawyers for a two-week delay.

Reza Zarrab said on Tuesday that he paid a $45,000 bribe to a US prison guard to obtain alcohol and use the guard's phone to speak with his wife, daughter and lawyer. During a hearing at a Manhattan court in the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, Zarrab who is cooperating with US prosecutors, testified that he got the money through a Turkish attorney whom he did not identify. The US Bureau of Prisons could not immediately be reached for comment. Zarrab is the key US government witness in its case against Atilla, an executive at Turkey's Halkbank who is charged with scheming to violate US sanctions against Iran. He has pleaded not guilty. Zarrab testified on Tuesday under cross-examination by Atilla's attorney, Cathy Fleming, that he and Atilla did not like each other.

On November 28, US prosecutors on “the US against Reza Zarrab” case revealed that Zarrab had gone from being a defendant in the case to a witness. Zarrab, a businessman who holds both Iranian and Turkish citizenship, made an agreement with the prosecutor’s office and pleaded guilty. He put former deputy CEO of Turkish state-run Halkbank at the centre of all accusations. “By testifying against Mehmet [Hakan] Atilla, Zarrab hopes he can buy freedom, a shortcut back to his lavish life with the rich and famous. He’s a liar, a cheater, a corrupter of men on a staggering scale…a one-man crime wave,” said Victor Rocco, the attorney of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who has denied any wrongdoing. Zarrab’s testimony started in Federal District Court in Manhattan the following day on December 29.