The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, is under investigation by Turkish prosecutors.
Bharara is being probed by the government of Turkey for putting a Turkish-Iranian businessman on trial. His successor, Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim is also under investigation, according to a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office.
The two allegedly violated both international and domestic laws by wiretapping and gathering documents for a case against gold trader Reza Zarrab, which Turkey says is politically motivated, the Associated Press reported.
Zarrab is one of nine defendants indicted in the case. He has been charged in the U.S. for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran. Former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan is also a defendant.
Turkish officials have accused Bharara of links to a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for a failed July 2016 military coup.
Bhara has rejected such an allegation, and Gulen has said he was not involved in the coup.
