Halkbank Fails to Have U.S. Sanctions Prosecution Dismissed

(Bloomberg) -- A U.S. judge denied a request from Turkish bank Halkbank to dismiss an indictment charging it with conspiracy to help Iran access $20 billion in frozen oil funds held at the institution.

Halkbank had argued it held sovereign immunity from prosecution because it is majority-owned by Turkey, that the conduct occurred outside the U.S. and that it is beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. The judge rejected all those arguments in a ruling issued Thursday, writing: “The court concludes that Halkbank is not immune from prosecution.”

Federal prosecutors in New York charged Halkbank in 2019 with being at the nucleus of a scheme to allow Iran to tap proceeds from overseas oil sales that were on deposit in the bank but were frozen under U.S. sanctions in place at the time. Evidence introduced in a prior trial of a bank executive showed that top officials, up to the then-chief executive, received bribes and held meetings with a key money launderer to devise ways to move the money on Iran’s behalf.

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