(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected a request by Turkey’s Halkbank to reconsider a ruling holding that the U.S. Department of Justice could prosecute the state-owned bank on charges that it helped Iran evade American sanctions.
The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to have the full court reconsider a three-judge panel’s October rejection of Halkbank’s argument that it deserved immunity from prosecution.
The 2nd Circuit panel found no basis under centuries-old common law principles for foreign state-owned companies to be absolutely immune from U.S. prosecution related to commercial, nongovernmental activities.
Halkbank, in court papers asking the court to reconsider, said the panel’s ruling “conflicts with the longstanding principle of international law that one sovereign cannot criminally charge another.”
Its lead attorney did not respond to a request for comment, but it has previously said it may take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has already weighed in once before.
U.S. prosecutors charged Halkbank in 2019 over its alleged use of money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade sanctions.
Prosecutors said Halkbank helped Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of restricted funds, converted oil revenue into gold and cash to benefit Iranian interests, and documented fake food shipments to justify transfers of oil proceeds.
Halkbank pleaded not guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. The case became a thorn in U.S.-Turkey relations, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan calling the U.S. charges an “unlawful, ugly” step.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)