Turkish Banker Case Takes Odd Turn as Zarrab Sued for Rape
- Fellow inmate says events turned cell into ‘torture chamber’
- Lawyer for Zarrab calls allegations ‘outrageous and false’
Reza Zarrab in 2013.
Photographer: Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images
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The trial against a Turkish banker accused of laundering money for Iran took a bizarre turn as the U.S. government’s star witness was sued for rape by a man who says he was a fellow inmate in a New York City jail.
The lawsuit against Reza Zarrab, a gold and currency trader who is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors, was filed Wednesday in state court in Manhattan. The plaintiff is a 62-year-old man from the Ivory Coast who claims he was held in a cell with Zarrab from mid-2016 to March, when Zarrab was transferred to another facility after the man complained.