Judge Clears Halkbank in US Sanctions Case After DOJ Drops Billion-Dollar Iran Charges

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 17

Richard Berman on Wednesday let the Justice Department formally dismiss the criminal case against Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, ending a long-running US prosecution tied to alleged Iran sanctions evasion.
Billions of dollars were at issue in the case, which accused the Turkish state-owned lender of helping Iran move funds in violation of US sanctions.
The dismissal followed a deferred prosecution agreement signed in March, with Berman ruling that Halkbank had satisfied the conditions required to end the case.
The decision closes a major chapter in a yearslong dispute between US authorities and one of Turkey’s biggest state lenders.