The Turkish government does not expect Türkiye Halk Bankasi AS to face a fine related to sanctions violations, after a U.S. law firm found that it had not breached rules, Reuters reported Sept. 3, citing Turkey's finance minister.
American firm King and Spalding investigated the bank after its deputy director general, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, was charged with allegedly helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison in May, a move that Turkey contends was politically motivated.
"As a result of a months-long independent examination, it has been established that the bank had not violated primary and secondary U.S. sanctions against Iran," the country's treasury and finance minister Berat Albayrak told Reuters.
He predicted that Halkbank would emerge "completely clean."