The Manhattan federal judge set to oversee Halkbank's criminal money-laundering trial has refused to recuse himself from the case, rejecting defense claims that comments he made during a symposium in Turkey had called his impartiality into question.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York said Monday that statements underpinning the Halkbank's motion "do not begin to overcome" the presumption that he could fairly preside over the massive sanctions-busting case, which accuses the Turkish state-run bank of helping Iran avoid billions of dollars in U.S. economic sanctions.