A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday denied King & Spalding’s request to enter a special appearance to challenge a criminal case against Halkbank, the Turkish state-run bank accused of helping Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions in a massive alleged money-laundering scheme.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman of the the Southern District of New York said in a 27-page ruling that he “almost certainly” would have concluded that Halkbank was a fugitive after it failed to respond to an Oct. 15 indictment charging six counts of fraud, money laundering and sanctions offenses. However, such a finding was unnecessary given his ruling.
