Supreme Court struggles with criminal charges against Turkish-owned bank

Supreme Court struggles with criminal charges against Turkish-owned bank

The Supreme Court faced weighty and seemingly novel questions Tuesday as it considered whether the federal government can pursue criminal charges against Turkey’s state-owned bank, which is accused of helping to launder billions of dollars so Iran could evade U.S. economic sanctions.

A lawyer for Turkey’s Halkbank told the justices that sovereign immunity shields the institution from criminal prosecution under centuries-old precedents. But two lower federal courts have said the prosecution may proceed, and that there is no prohibition in federal law against the case being pursued by a U.S. attorney in New York.