On Friday, lawyers for a Turkish banker, convicted of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions, told a Manhattan federal judge that it would be unfair to subject their client to a long prison stay. U.S. prosecutors accused Mehmet Atilla conspiring with wealthy gold trader Reza Zarrab and others in using fraudulent gold and food transactions to help Iran evade sanctions. Atilla's lawyers argued that no banker "has ever been charged for such conduct, much less sent to prison."
