Turkey's Halkbank urges end of U.S. prosecution alleging Iran sanctions violations

FILE PHOTO: People walk past a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, Turkey, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for Halkbank told a U.S. appeals court on Monday that the state-owned Turkish lender was immune from U.S. prosecution and that an indictment accusing it of helping Iran evade American sanctions should be thrown out.

In arguments before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, Halkbank's lawyer Simon Latcovich said the U.S. government had no basis to assert criminal jurisdiction over the bank, and that the bank was "synonymous" with Turkey for purposes of immunity.