Turkey’s Halkbank says US prosecutors will drop criminal charges under a deferred prosecution agreement, with no fines or admission of guilt.

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank has announced a settlement with the United States Department of Justice to conclude a protracted criminal case concerning alleged violations of sanctions on Iran.

The bank stated on social media platform X that a deferred prosecution agreement had been reached, under which it “will not admit to any criminal offences, nor will it pay any judicial or administrative fines”.

This agreement aims to resolve a legal dispute that has been a persistent source of diplomatic friction between Washington and Ankara for years.

US prosecutors originally filed criminal charges against Halkbank in 2019, alleging its involvement in a multi-year scheme to launder billions of dollars from Iranian oil and gas revenues, thereby evading sanctions against Tehran.

Halkbank explained that following the submission of a compliance report, it and the US attorney’s office in New York will jointly request the court dismiss the case.

“With the court’s approval, the criminal case against our bank in the US… will be concluded,” the bank’s statement added.

The Turkish lender also confirmed it had been notified by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control that its separate administrative proceedings against Halkbank have been closed without further action.

 The Sun Malaysia