ATTORNEYS ENGAGED BY ZARRAB'S TURKISH BANKER ALSO UNDER THE MICROSCOPE FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The two experienced criminal defense attorneys, hired by Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the Turkish banker with aiding Reza Zarrab evade US sanctions on Iranian oil, are also being examined by the Court, to ascertain whether they must withdraw from the case, upon the grounds of Conflict of Interest. New York attorneys Victor Rocco and Thomas Thornhill are both members of a firm that has represented some of the victim banks, as well as the Republic of Turkey.

The Court has yet to rule on whether Rudolph Guliani and Michael Mukasey will be disqualified, on grounds of Conflict of Interest. The Government's prior efforts to cause the removal of existing defense counsel for Zarrab were unsuccessful.

Atilla remains in pretrial custody, with no bond hearing set. The superseding indictment that included him in the Zarrab case will most likely result in a delay in the scheduled August trial date.