Turkish businessman Rıza Sarraf on Wednesday accepted all charges he is accused of and agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors as a witness against Turkish banker 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 U.S. earlier this year on similar sanctions violations charges.
The hearing began Tuesday after U.S. District Judge Richard Berman rejected a request by Atilla's lawyers for a two-week delay.
On the second day of the hearing, the court continued to listen to the witnesses, including Sarraf, who said he did not "tell the truth completely and transparently" to the FBI as he "did not know" what he would "come across" and "felt scared" when he was detained in Miami last year.
He said he accepted all the charges he is accused of and that he agreed to cooperate with the U.S. prosecutors because it was "the best way to be released from jail."
Stating that no one promised him a certain penalty, he said he was watched by the FBI for the past few weeks.
Other witnesses included the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members Osman Zeki Canitez and Aykan Erdemir who is also a former deputy of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for the two, who are charged for "stealing documents related to national security".
- PROSECUTOR DEFENDS FETO-LINKED POLICE
At Tuesday's hearing, the prosecutor's office directed all charges Sarraf is accused of to Atilla.
It defended voice recordings it had submitted to the court as evidence and refused to reveal their source.
David Denton, the deputy prosecuting attorney, said the FETO-linked police who made the recordings did their job. He also said they would testify as witnesses.
Victor Rocco, Atilla's lawyer, rejected the charges his client is accused of, saying "Atilla was one of the victims of Sarraf."
Mentioning that Atilla had travelled to the U.S twice after Sarraf was remanded, Rocco also criticized the voice recordings.
- TURKEY SAYS THE CASE 'LACKS LEGAL GROUNDS'
Turkey recently launched a probe against U.S. prosecutors connected to the Sarraf case.
Istanbul prosecutors accused former U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, Preet Bharara, and his replacement Joon H. Kim of using information and documents from an old Turkish investigation in their case.
Bharara, who launched the probe into Sarraf, was fired on March 11 as part of a mass Trump administration housecleaning of U.S. attorneys who served under President Barack Obama.
Turkish authorities have called on the U.S. administration to drop the case involving Sarraf saying it "lacks legal grounds."
