"Simply stated, the court rejects Halkbank’s efforts to avoid and delay appropriate district court proceedings. Halkbank has two reasonable choices: it can either appear in a U.S. court to raise any legitimate defense or it can choose not to appear and face any attendant risks," U.S. District Judge Richard Berman wrote in a 5-page decision.

"Halkbank will not be irreparably injured by the absence of a stay and, in fact, has proffered no injury other than that of its own making," the judge stated.

The judge added: "At the same time, Halkbank fails to point out that its economic problems may have predated the Indictment, and that mitigation of any economic and reputational damage may best be assured by Halkbank’s speedy response to the criminal charges."

The judge rescheduled a hearing to determine whether to sanction Halkbank for contempt of court until Feb. 25, giving the parties more time to resolve any appeal before the Second Circuit.

Halkbank case is an Iranian sanctions case in New York. Mehmet Hakan Atilla an executive at Halkbank was accused of conspiring with Iranian-Turkish businessperson Reza Zarrab, using the U.S. financial system to conduct transactions on behalf of Iran and other Iranian entities, which were barred by United States sanctions, and to delude U.S. financial institutions by concealing the true nature of these transactions.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and members of his administration have made several requests to the United States to drop the case.

On 19 March 2016, Reza Zarrab was arrested in Miami, Florida, for allegedly conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran. Halkbank Deputy Chief Executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was in connection with Zarrab, was also arrested in the United States in March 2017 with similar offenses.

Mehmet Hakan Atilla was found guilty on five charges related to conspiracy and bank fraud including violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, crimes to deceive the U.S. and defrauding U.S. banking system, but was acquitted of money laundering. (ILKHA)