The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Halkbank, leaving the lender to face criminal charges over allegations that it helped Iran evade sanctions and launder billions of dollars through the American financial system.
By refusing the petition, the justices left intact a lower-court ruling rejecting the Turkish state-owned bank’s claim of sovereign immunity, the Financial Times reported.
Federal prosecutors first brought the case in 2019, alleging Halkbank secretly moved about $20 billion in restricted Iranian funds and laundered at least $1 billion through the United States, in violation of sanctions laws. A conviction could carry a penalty of as much as $2 billion, more than three times the bank’s prior-year consolidated net profit, the FTsaid.
Halkbank told the newspaper that the Supreme Court’s move “does not mean that the legal proceedings are finalized,” adding that efforts to reach a “legal consensus” under U.S.–Turkey agreements are “continuing in a positive direction.”
The bank has long argued it is beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts because it is majority state-owned and because the alleged conduct occurred outside the United States. A federal appeals court rejected that defense last year, prompting the Supreme Court appeal.
Separately, Turkey last week froze the assets of dozens of Iranian entities and individuals connected to Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs, aligning with UN Security Council “snapback” sanctions. The US Treasury also imposed measures against 21 companies and 17 people accused of supporting Iran’s ballistic missile and military aircraft programs, the FT said.
Read more at the Financial Times