The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Turkish bank’s arguments
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the arguments presented by Turkey’s Halkbank to absolve itself from accusations of helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions, but referred the case for further review.
The bank had presented two arguments: first, that under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, foreign countries are given absolute immunity from criminal prosecution in U.S. courts, and second, that U.S. federal courts do not have jurisdiction over this case.
The judge in this case rejected both arguments; however, Brett Kavanaugh stated that the case should be referred to a lower court for further examination.
The U.S. federal government claims that the bank, in collaboration with an Iranian businessman named Reza Zarrab, facilitated routes for Iran to access financial resources, including through shipments of gold and fraudulent food shipments, freeing up around twenty billion dollars of Iran’s assets.
This case was initiated during the Trump administration and its proceedings are still ongoing.
English
View this article in English