Judge Demands U.S. Explain Move to Drop Iran Sanctions Case
Judge Demands U.S. Explain Move to Drop Iran Sanctions Case
(Bloomberg) --
A federal judge said she has “serious concerns about the conduct of the government” and wants to know why U.S. prosecutors are seeking to drop a sanctions-violation case against an Iranian banker who was already convicted in March.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan on Tuesday asked prosecutors to explain their decision to request the dismissal of the case against Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, 40, who was found guilty in federal court in New York of helping funnel $115 million through the U.S. financial system to Iranian entities from a construction project in Venezuela. Sadr’s case was one of the last jury trials to be held before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted court operations.
The move to dismiss the Sadr prosecution has echoes of the Justice Department’s unusual request to drop the case against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn despite his previous guilty plea. A federal judge in that case is also inquiring about the government’s motives.
Prosecutors in the Sadr case had cited the likelihood of continued litigation over suppressed evidence in their Friday request. Given the resources that would be required to address those issues, continuing to pursue the case “would not be in the interest of justice,” they said. But Sadr’s lawyers countered by asking Nathan to grant a new trial and enter a judgment of acquittal. The defense said simply dismissing the case while leaving Sadr’s conviction in place could result in his deportation from the U.S.
Nathan said she was concerned about the prosecution’s possible failure to share with the defense evidence that might be considered exculpatory, as required by the law. She ordered the government to compile a list of all evidence that may have been improperly withheld. She also asked for the names of all prosecutors who might have been involved with withholding evidence, as well as their supervisors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, which brought the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said Sadr set up a network of companies and bank accounts to mask the involvement of his father, the head of Iranian industrial conglomerate Stratus Group and one of the country’s most successful businessmen. Sadr, who attended Cornell University, lived in the U.S. and kept an apartment in the Georgetown section of Washington. He was convicted of five counts related to sanctions violations, including bank fraud and money laundering, and acquitted of one count of conspiracy.
Sadr testified in his own defense at trial, saying he set up the companies in an effort to diversify his father’s business empire outside of Iran.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.