Thread by @innercitypress

OK - now starts is #Iran- #Venezuela (& #Malta?) trial US v. Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad. Defendant is an Iranian banker charged with moving $115M in violation of US sanctions. Inner City Press covered the run up and now live tweets - thread

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Open statements:
Assistant US Attorney: It is illegal for US banks to send dollars to Iranian companies. How did the defendant do it? Smoke and mirrors. He disguised their Iranian identities with citizenship purchased in a Caribbean Island.

[St. Kitts & Nevis.]

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: Because of the serious threats that Iran posed against the US, sanctions were put in place. Virtual all business dealing with Iran are prohibited. The defendant knew about these sanctions. He even lived here in the US for a time.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: Two of the Iranian company of his father were sanctioned. His father started a company doing business with Venezuela. Half a billion dollars in the deal. But the defendant did not want to be paid in rials or the Venezuelan currency. They wanted US dollars.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: The defendant and his father sent up companies in Turkey and Switzerland. They used an address in Dubai. They opened Swiss bank accounts. They did not mention Iran. They hid the Iranian connections.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: For a while it worked. Defendant had letters sent to Venezuela to pay his through the companies he had set up. By 2013-2014, there were problems. The Venezuelans weren't paying. The Defendant and his father turned to the Iranian minister of industry

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: They did this because it was an Iranian company, not a Turkish or Swiss company. As a result of the defendant masterminding this scheme he is charged with six federal crimes...

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: You'll hear from people who worked at banks, saying they cannot process dollar payments to Iran. But the defendant misled them. And the defendant and his family got the money. You will see his emails, his unvarnished words, advising not to say "Iran."

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: You'll see the real contract, and the doctored contract, that removes the word Iran. You will see the defendant directing his assistant to backdate a document. All the route $115M from banks right here in Manhattan to an Iranian company.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: Listen to evidence. Follow Judge Nathan's instructions on the law. Use your common sense. And you will reach the only conclusion: that the defendant is guilty.
Judge Nathan: Mr Weingarten? Opening statement on behalf of Mr. Sadr.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Defense lawyer Reid Weingarten: Let me introduce you to my client, Ali Sadr. He was born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran. The US embassy was taken over in 1979 and modern Iranian history began. In this trial you'll get to know Ali Sadr better than many people in your life

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: Who is this guy? What makes him tick? Why did he make some of the decisions that he did. We want you to know. Many in Ali's family still live in Iran. His mom lives in DC, she is a PhD. His sister is an architect in Los Angeles.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: His father is a giant of a man, both physically and as businessman. He came to believe the Shah was a fascist. Gave the Mullah's an opportunity to govern --
AUSA: Objection!
Judge Nathan: Overruled. But there are limits.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: Soon he was totally hostile to the theocratic government. But they needed him and let him work. He built tunnels and airports. Then he went international: he built an airport in Yemen, a parliament building in Djibouti. He was pro-capitalism

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: He started the first private bank in Iran. He had 50 family members on his payroll. He was at war with the theocracy. The IRGC
AUSA: Objection.
Judge Nathan: Overruled.
Weingarten: The IRGC wanted his business. They are thugs.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: My client Ali was a brilliant student. He was pro American. Charles Barkley was his hero, he had a poster. The family decided the women and girls needed to move to the US. Ali stayed in Tehran. He was arrested, thrown down some steps.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: He came to the US, got accepted to Cornell. He built a shopping center. He started an investment business. He was applying for asylum in the US. He started a business in Turkey called Stratus. He started an investment company in Switzerland

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: This Switzerland company moved commodities all over. There are exception to the sanctions, as you will hear. In Venezuela, there was a flood and they wanted to rebuild a city. Six companies from Iran agreed, but fail. My client's dad took it over

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: My client is fully engaged elsewhere, he wants to be banker. But his father asks him to help in Venezuela. And my client loves his father, wanted to pay him back. Both wanted to help poor people. Ali was all in. He wanted his father out of Iran.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: Ronald Reagan banned imports. Bill Clinton banned exports. An awful guy named Ahmedinejad, more sanctions. President Obama used carrot & stick, to go after the wrong-doers.
AUSA: Objection
Judge Nathan: Sustained. Jury will disregard the last sentence.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: President Obama used targeted sanctions--
Judge Nathan: May I speak with you?

[Lawyer move forward for a sidebar. Notably, the objections are to characterizations of US presidents and their sanctions, & Weingarten trying to position Nejad politically]

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami After long sidebar:
Weingarten: The sanctions are harsh. There's no Wal-Mart, no Apple. The economy of Iran is hurting. Those are the intended consequences of the sanctions. Then the unintended consequences- banks say, it's too much hassle.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: There's a French bank that basically financed the terror in Darfur... Then more rules, and other banks say it is too much trouble to deal with Iranians and we're not going to do it. You'll see that in this trial.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: After the earthquake, people wanted to help Iranians. But the banks said no. Even Iranian students at US colleges couldn't get bank accounts.
Back to the project. It was difficult. Venezuela is the kidnapping capital of the world.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: Once my client's father took over the Venezuela project, not a dollar went back to Iran. They feared that the Ayatollahs would take the money.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: As you get into the evidence, you'll see that the construction company would send a bill to Venezuela. Eventually they would pay, to banks in Portugal and Spain, in Europe. But the Venezuela account, they used a US bank to clear the transactions

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: They both had clearing accounts with JP Morgan. That's it. That's the story. That's the alleged criminality. The nano-second. But there is no criminal intent. The US can't prove that. Ali thought it was fine as long as no money went to Iran

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: The bank fraud statutes are complicated. Ali was not a client of JPMorgan. He had no duty to them. No intent to rip them off. There's be talk about evading or avoid sanctions. But if your heart is pure, you are not doing that.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: My client did not want to be denied by bank just because he was Persian. Even if you find a technical violation of the sanctions - that is not a crime if he had a pure heart and was on the right side. This case is not about the wisdom of the sanctions

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: I know you will not let hostility to any country impact your verdict, I am confident. Do your best--
AUSA: Objection.
Judge Nathan: Sustained. That's summation. It comes at the end.
Weingarten: Keep an open mind. Ali Sadr wanted to help his dad

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Weingarten: Not for a nano-second did he want to violate US law. At the end, you will return the only verdict possible: not guilty.
Judge Nathan: We'll take a 15 minute break.
Thread will continue.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Now the prosecution is reading into the record stipulations about defendant's emails on Google/Gmail, Yahoo, etc. In US v. Schulte, US Attorney has made its exhibits available to the press - will they do so in this case?

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA: What is this?
Witness: An Iranian passport.
AUSA: What was the date of issue?
Witness: 2011.
AUSA: And domicile?
Witness: The Islamic Republic of Iran.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Witness (Special Agent Early) - this was the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and Venezuela being emailed to Ali Sadr.
AUSA: Let's look at the translation. What is it?
Agent Early: A decree of Venezuela, its agreement with Iran.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Now Judge Nathan declares one hour lunch break. With jury and witness gone, defense lawyer Brian Heberlig previews how he will object.

Judge Nathan says, That's not how it's done in my experience, maybe your experience is more limited.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Judge Nathan says, "I have a criminal proceeding at 12:45 in another courtroom [where?], and the jury's coming back at 1:30 - so let's meet back here at 1:10.
Thread will continue.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Judge Nathan arrived back at 1:25, said the idea of moving her other proceedings out of her courtroom where this trial is might not have been the right one. Testimony continues of Stratus employee, in Farsi; AUSA Krause says it may be a few hours

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami Finally the Farsi witness identifies Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad - "he is over there, at the third table." He met him when the defendant was an intern, from Tehran University. "Yes" in Farsi sounds like "Vale," a way of saying "Right on" in Spanish.

@MatthewLeeICP @FUNCA_info @sdnylive @herszenhorn @DavidCasaMEP @mcaruanagalizia @occupyjusticema @EVTVMiami AUSA Krause: Did you have any involvement in the financing of the Venezuela project?
Farsi witness "Kazerani" - No, none at all.
AUSA: Did they come a time you left the project?
Kazerani: Yes, I wanted to join my family in the US.