Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who was arrested in Florida in March 2016 for fraud and money laundering, was scheduled to go to trial this week. Instead, he's accepted a plea deal and will testify against his codefendant in a conspiracy that former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara last May described as one that "facilitated millions of dollars-worth of transactions on behalf of Iran... through a global network of companies located in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates' designed to evade US sanctions."
Business Insider explains what Zarrab's move means for the special counsel's Russia investigation as it relates to former national security advisor Michael Flynn:
Federal prosecutors are now pursuing a separate but parallel investigation into whether Flynn used his cabinet position to secure Zarrab's release from a New York jail and return to Turkey a controversial Muslim cleric loathed by [Turkish President] Erdogan — in exchange for as much as $15 million.
Zarrab could have information about Flynn's ties to Erdogan that could be useful to federal investigators examining the extent to which Flynn was working for the Turkish government both before and after the election.
As an aside, Zarrab's legal team happens to include former New York City Mayor and Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani.
The Feds just flipped a Turkish gold trader accused of violating US sanctions — and it could spell trouble for Michael Flynn (Business Insider)