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              Congressional_______
         ah esearch Service






The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act:

Prosecuting Foreign States After the Supreme

Court's Decision in Halkbank



May   18, 2023

The Supreme Court's decision in Turkiye Halk Bankasi A. S v United States, holding that the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not provide foreign states immunity from criminal prosecution,
cleared some obstacles to the United States' effort to prosecute a bank owned by Turkey (Turkiye) but left
open other questions about the viability of prosecuting foreign-state-owned entities. The United States
indicted Turkiye Halk Bankasi (Halkbank) in 2019 on charges related to alleged sanctions evasion, money
laundering, and bank fraud. Halkbank, which denies the allegations, argued that the FSIA provided
complete immunity from prosecution because the bank is an instrument of a foreign state. In an April
2023 opinion, the Supreme Court held that the FSIA grants immunity only in civil actions and not in
criminal prosecutions and left open the possibility that common law immunity may apply. Lower courts
must now grapple with how to determine when common law immunity is available-although Congress
could influence this issue through legislation that defines foreign sovereign immunity standards in
criminal cases.

Background

Background on the Halkbank case, its procedural history, and the FSIA are provided in this Legal Sidebar.
Before the Supreme Court, Halkbank asserted several legal theories as to why the Court should dismiss
the case: No federal criminal statute gives federal courts jurisdiction over foreign-state-owned entities, the
FSIA grants absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions, and, even if the FSIA does not apply, the
common  law supplies immunity from prosecution.

The   Court's  Three-Part   Decision

In an opinion written by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court rejected Halkbank's first two arguments
but remanded proceedings for the lower court to evaluate the bank's argument that common law
immunity prevents criminal prosecution.


                                                             Congressional Research Service
                                                               https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                 LSB10967

CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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