Statement Of Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim On The Conviction Of Hakan Atilla

“Today, after a full, fair, and open trial, a unanimous jury convicted Hakan Atilla, a senior banker at Halk Bank.  Along with the prior guilty plea of Reza Zarrab, two men at the heart of this massive and brazen scheme that blew a billion-dollar hole in the Iran sanctions regime now stand convicted of serious federal crimes.  Foreign banks and bankers have a choice:  You can choose willfully to help Iran and other sanctioned nations evade U.S. law, or you can choose to be part of the international banking community transacting in U.S. dollars.  But you can’t do both.  If you lie repeatedly to U.S. Treasury officials and fabricate documents – all as part of a secret scheme to smuggle billions of dollars in Iranian oil money past the U.S. sanctions net – as Atilla did, then you should be prepared for the consequences.  The consequence of Atilla’s choice is now a felony conviction in an American court of law.”