A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of a long-running criminal case against Halkbank over Iran sanction violations after the Turkish bank completed a compliance review.
US District Judge Richard Berman signed a “nolle prosequi” order requested by US Attorney Jay Clayton seeking to drop the case against Turkiye Halk Bankasai.
US prosecutors had hit Halkbank with criminal charges in 2019 over suspicions it was involved in a years-long scheme to launder billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and natural gas proceeds in violation of sanctions on Tehran.
The Department of Justice had slapped Halkbank with six counts of fraud, money-laundering and sanctions offenses in what it had referred to as one of the most serious sanctions-busting cases it had seen.
In March, the Department of Justice announced a deferred prosecution agreement with Halkbank in which it would dismiss the case following a successful compliance review of the bank’s programs.
US officials cited the Turkish government’s assistance in securing both the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and a ceasefire in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
In a June 10 joint request to Berman co-signed by Halkbank counsel, Clayton said the bank’s compliance obligation “has been satisfied,” according to a 12-page letter.
To fulfill the deferred prosecution agreement’s requirements, Halkbank enlisted a Turkish affiliate of accounting firm Ernst & Young to review the bank’s compliance program and check whether any transactions were for the benefit of Iran or Iranian persons or entities.
The review identified “no findings of noncompliance,” the letter said.
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