Halkbank Charged in U.S. Indictment With Fraud, Laundering (1)

U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against Turkey’s Halkbank, accusing it of fraud, money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, in a case that Turkish President Recep Erdogan had pressed both President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama to dismiss.

Prosecutors accused the bank of participating in a sweeping scheme to violate prohibitions on Iran’s access to the U.S. financial system, involving high-ranking government officials in Iran and Turkey.

The indictment was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

Senior Halkbank management’s participated “in this brazen scheme to circumvent our nation’s Iran sanctions regime,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in ...