So, turns out there were some shenanigans going on with Halkbank and some government officials from Turkey and Iran. They were trying to sneak around and evade some pesky U.S. sanctions. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh and six other justices were having none of it. Kavanaugh wrote that just because Halkbank is owned by a foreign state doesn’t mean they can go around breaking the law and threatening national security without any consequences. Makes sense to me.
The Supreme Court is telling the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to take a closer look at Halkbank’s request to throw out the whole prosecution based on common-law immunity. The Supreme Court ain’t buying it though. They’re saying just because you might not be governed by the FSIA law doesn’t mean you’re immune to being held responsible for some shady business dealings.
The U.S. government is all like, “Hey, we’re not messing around here, folks.” They’re arguing that even a commercial entity like Halkbank can be prosecuted for criminal activity. Halkbank hasn’t said anything yet, probably too busy trying to come up with a good defense.
Justice Neil Gorsuch is down with the majority opinion for the most part, but he’s also got a bone to pick. He and Justice Samuel Alito disagree with the whole “FSIA’s rules apply only in civil cases” idea. They say they same rules apply in criminal cases too. Gorsuch thinks the whole thing is getting a little too complicated for no good reason. I mean, I don’t know about you, but my brain is already hurting from all this legal jargon.
In case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, Halkbank got indicted back in October 2019 for some serious offenses. They were working with our friends from Turkey and Iran to dodge U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. They were moving around billions of dollars of Iranian oil and gas money like it ain’t no thang. But our Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers was having none of it, saying “no business should profit from evading our laws or risking our national security.” And honestly, I don’t blame him.
Oh, and it’s worth noting that in 2017, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader named Reza Zarrab got caught up in this scheme and pleaded guilty to seven criminal counts. Then in 2018, former Halkbank deputy general manager Memet Hakkan Atilla got convicted of five of the six criminal counts he was facing. Sounds like Halkbank ain’t the only one in hot water here.
Serious News: cnbc
