No immunity for Halkbank in sanctions case, says US court

ISTANBUL

A U.S. appeals court has rejected a request by state-owned lender Halkbank for immunity from criminal charges in a long-running case regarding the evasion of American sanctions against Iran.

“In the process regarding Halkbank's ongoing criminal case in the U.S, the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Oct. 22, 2021, that we do not have foreign state immunity was appealed before the United States Supreme Court,” the bank recalled in a filing with Borsa Istanbul on late Oct. 22.

The Supreme Court rejected Halkbank's FSIA (Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) immunity argument with its ruling dated April 19, 2023.

They remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for further review of the matter that Halkbank may not be tried at U.S. courts under the common law of the United States, the statement said.

“Upon further review, the Second Circuit with its decision dated Oct. 22, rejected our bank's common law immunity request again and affirmed the District Court's order,” it added.

“Our bank will use all its legal rights to appeal with regard to the Oct. 22 decision of the Second Circuit, particularly with the U.S. Supreme Court,” Halkbank said.

Halkbank was charged in New York in 2019 and has pleaded not guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges over its alleged use of money servicers and front companies to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions.