Halkbank, the state lender and fourth-largest bank in Turkey by assets, announced that a nine-year-old US criminal case against the bank is getting closer to a complete end.
The bank and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York submitted a joint plea to the court on June 10, 2026, requesting the dismissal of all charges.
In a statement filed with the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), Halkbank said that a recent Compliance Report was delivered to both the US Department of Justice and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on time. The report was a condition under a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) signed between the bank and US prosecutors. The DPA took effect on March 11, 2026.
Following the delivery of this report, parties jointly petitioned the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to drop the case.
Halkbank said that the long-standing legal battle will fully conclude as soon as the court approves this joint request. Under the terms of the DPA, Halkbank accepted no criminal guilt and will not pay any judicial or administrative fines.
The case began in 2019 when US prosecutors accused Halkbank of participating in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to evade sanctions on Iran by transferring approximately $20 billion in restricted funds through front companies. Halkbank denied all charges.
The legal dispute long acted as a source of tension between Washington and Ankara. The momentum toward a resolution accelerated following a White House meeting in September 2025 between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump, where Erdoğan proposed a settlement.
The US Department of Justice said that dismissing the case serves the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. Furthermore, the agreement requires Halkbank to cooperate with U.S. authorities regarding assets linked to Reza Zarrab, a gold trader who previously became a government witness in the case.
For the Turkish banking sector and international investors, the imminent closure of the case removes a massive financial uncertainty that had clouded Turkey’s risk profile for nearly a decade.
