1st civil case in US against Türkiye's Halkbank dismissed

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Halkbank, a Turkish state-lender, said on Tuesday that the first civil case in the US against the bank, had been dismissed.

The case was dismissed first by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and then the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit "on grounds of forum non conveniens," the lender said.

It noted that the US Supreme Court considered the appeal on Friday and decided to refuse to grant the plaintiff's appeal on Monday.

"Consequently, the Owens case brought against our Bank on March 27, 2020 has been conclusively dismissed," it added. "We would like to congratulate our Bank, investors, customers and employees on the decision."

The bank said that the legal proceedings for the second civil case brought on July 26, 2023 for satisfaction of judgements, the Hughes case, as well as the criminal case dated Oct. 15, 2019 are currently ongoing.