A years-long legal and geopolitical dispute between the United States and Türkiye has reached a significant turning point after the US Justice Department and Turkey’s state-owned lender Halkbank agreed to settle charges related to the alleged evasion of sanctions on Iran. The settlement closes one of the most politically sensitive financial cases involving a NATO ally and resolves a legal battle that had strained relations between United States and Türkiye for nearly a decade.

Under the terms of the agreement, Halkbank will not admit any criminal wrongdoing and will not face judicial or administrative fines. Instead, the bank must appoint an independent compliance expert to review its internal anti-money laundering (AML) procedures and sanctions compliance systems. The independent firm will then prepare a comprehensive report for the United States Department of Justice, outlining the bank’s current controls and recommending improvements where necessary.

Although the settlement spares Halkbank from financial penalties, the case has nonetheless highlighted vulnerabilities in the global financial system and the challenges governments face in enforcing complex international sanctions regimes.

The charges against Halkbank stem from alleged violations of US sanctions imposed on Iran. For years, Washington has used sanctions to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program and regional activities. These restrictions have limited Iran’s access to global financial markets, particularly transactions conducted in US dollars or through institutions with exposure to the American banking system.

According to federal prosecutors in New York, Halkbank played a key role in a sophisticated scheme that allowed Iran to circumvent these restrictions. Authorities alleged that the bank facilitated the transfer of roughly $20 billion through an elaborate network of financial transactions designed to disguise the origin and destination of funds.

The operation was allegedly orchestrated by Reza Zarrab, a businessman accused of acting as a financial intermediary for the Iranian government. Prosecutors said Zarrab used a complex web of front companies, falsified trade invoices, and precious-metal........

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