US court rejects Halkbank's special status request

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An American federal court rejected lawyers of the Turkish state-run Halkbank's request for a “special status” hearing in an ongoing high-profile trial concerning a controversial trading scheme between Turkey and Iran geared toward subverting the U.S. sanctions on the latter country. 

According to the Courthouse News Service in a report on Thursday, Judge Richard Berman wrote “If Halkbank wishes the district court to decide its jurisdictional motion, this international bank holds the key to unlock its dilemma: travel to New York and answer the charges or have its legal counsel do so.”

Halkbank had requested for a special hearing that would not require the bank to show up in court. The case is related to a gold-for-natural gas trading scheme between Turkey and Iran that was facilitated in order to bypass international sanctions on Iran. 

Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish national believed to be the mastermind of the scheme, traveled to the US in 2016 where he was arrested and testified against Halkbank and its head Hakan Atilla in exchange for witness protection. 

Halkbank head Hakan Atilla was sentenced to just over a year in jail in the US on charges of infringing upon US sanctions against Iran, and was subsequently released and returned to Turkey. 

The scheme was unearthed following a major corruption scandal that broke in Turkey in December 2013, targeting cabinet ministers and other prominent figures close to the government.

 The Turkish government blasted the probe as attempt by followers of the controversial US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen in the judiciary to topple the government. The group is referred to by government as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). Turkey insists that Gülen and his followers were responsible for the July 2016 coup attempt.