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Turkish state lender Halkbank said on Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject its appeal does not signify the end of legal proceedings and that the case will continue through the standard judicial process.
“As is known, in the process regarding Halkbank’s ongoing criminal case in the U.S., the Second Circuit rejected our Bank’s common law immunity request on Oct. 22, 2024,” Halkbank said in a statement.
“This development does not mean that the legal proceedings are finalized. The process will go forward in its ordinary course, and our bank will continue to assert all its legal rights,” it underlined.
The Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear another bid by the bank to avoid fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges in the U.S. for allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions.
The justices turned away Halkbank’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling, which allowed the criminal case brought by the U.S. government to proceed, thereby upholding that decision. Halkbank shares closed 10% lower in Istanbul on the news.
The Supreme Court in 2023 overturned a previous decision by the same lower court that had allowed the case to proceed, but at that time rejected a key defense presented by the bank.
Brought by U.S. federal prosecutors in 2019, the case has been a thorn in U.S.-Türkiye relations.
Halkbank has pleaded not guilty.
The Supreme Court decision not to hear Halkbank’s appeal clears the way for a possible trial unless both sides settle. However, Halkbank said that it would continue to assert all its legal rights.
“Initiatives to find a legal ground of conciliation within the framework of the understandings between the U.S. and Türkiye are also ongoing in a positive direction,” the bank added.
