Supreme Court rules criminal prosecution of Turkish bank can move forward

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the U.S. criminal prosecution of a Turkish bank for allegedly evading sanctions against Iran can move forward.

The high court ruled that Halkbank, which is largely owned by the Turkish government, is not immune from facing the prosecution in U.S. courts under federal protections for foreign sovereigns.

The justices, however, sent the case back to the lower courts to consider the bank’s argument that the common law prohibits the prosecution, finding that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not fully consider that argument.

“Relying on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Halkbank contends that it enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution. We disagree because the Act does not provide foreign states and their instrumentalities with immunity from criminal proceedings,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority.

Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred in part and dissented in part, in an opinion joined by Justice Samuel Alito. The other justices joined Kavanaugh’s opinion in full.

The case has caused tensions in U.S.-Turkish relations after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly asked then-President Trump to quash the investigation.

Federal prosecutors indicted the bank in 2019 on charges including money laundering and bank fraud, alleging it aided Iran by unlawfully freeing up the country’s oil revenues and laundering $1 billion through the U.S. financial system. Halkbank denies the allegations.