A gold trader charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran will keep former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey on his defense team despite the fact that their firms represent banks that allegedly fell victim to the violations.


Reza Zarrab


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Reza Zarrab, 33, a Turkish national, waived his right to conflict-free counsel on Thursday at the conclusion of Curcio proceedings called by Southern District Judge Richard Berman to determine if the defendant understands the potential conflicts of his retention of Giuliani, who is a senior adviser at Greenberg Traurig; and Mukasey, who is of counsel to Debevoise & Plimpton.

Both firms have represented victim-banks in the case and Greenberg Traurig is a registered agent for the Republic of Turkey.