As the case went through a surreal phase, Ankara has voiced criticism of the trial in the U.S., saying the case is trying to victimize Turkey on the grounds that it violated Iran sanctions.
Last September, Zarrab, in a call from prison, said he needed to lie in order to get out of the prison or get a reduced sentence, courthouse reporter Pete Brush claimed, citing the defense letter in a tweet.
"A curious letter appeared and then disappeared, from the Mehmet Hakan Atilla docket over the last few hours. Atilla's lawyers told Judge [Richard] Berman that U.S. prosecutors did not meet their burden to turn over exculpatory evidence in a timely manner," he wrote.
Meanwhile, on Thursday Zarrab was accused of sexually assaulting an ex-cellmate, who is in his early 60s, at a Manhattan prison.
The lawsuit alleging the rape claimed that the assault occurred between November 2016 and March 2017, when the men were staying in the same cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan.
The alleged rape victim and Zarrab became friends in the jail and Zarrab offered to pay for him to retain a private lawyer, as he was being represented by a public defender, the paper said.
The lawsuit also alleged that the man "felt helpless and unable to fight off the younger and stronger man," and added that the victim was "too scared and embarrassed at that time to complain or to seek help."
In his recent testimonies, Zarrab also admitted that he lied to Halkbank employees. He said that most Halkbank employees had no knowledge of his work.
"High-rank officials in the bank knew what kind of trade we were doing, the low-rank employees did not know. It is absolutely true that I lied to people that did not know," he said.
Zarrab was arrested by U.S. authorities in March 2016. He recently accepted all the charges against him, the violation of now-lifted U.S. sanctions against Iran, money laundering as well as other charges and agreed to cooperate as a state-witness against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy CEO of Halkbank.
Commenting on whether the bribe allegations will be investigated by Turkey, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Istanbul Deputy, Mustafa Şentop, said: "If there is new information or proof then this might be looked into. However, currently, there is nothing more than Zarrab's statements. So, there is no lawful demand."
