The US court announced its verdict against Reza Zarrab for his role in illegally breaking sanctions against Iran.

At the hearing held in New York, Judge Richard Berman noted that he counted the time Zarrab spent in prison as a sentence and did not announce an additional prison sentence.

Prosecutors had asked that Zarrab's cooperation with the US Department of Justice regarding the file be taken into consideration when sentencing him.

Zarrab's sentence was announced by the federal court in Manhattan, New York, nearly nine years after he pleaded guilty.

Zarrab was detained by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Miami, where he went with his family, on March 19, 2016, and was officially arrested on March 21, 2016.

Zarrab's arrest led to a lawsuit being filed against Halkbank in the USA for its role in breaking sanctions against Iran.

Zarrab, who cooperated with the prosecutor's office and confessed his crime, was released on bail in 2018.

In his statements at that time, Zarrab said that he gave 45-50 million euros and 7 million dollars in bribes to former Minister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan, and that Çağlayan wanted a half-profit sharing from trade with Iran.

Reza Zarrab, a citizen of Iran, Türkiye and Macedonia, also explained in court the 10-step path they followed to get around the sanctions and make oil and natural gas payments to Iran.

Zarrab also testified against Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who was detained in the USA in 2017.

Hakan Atilla returned to Türkiye in 2019 after being tried and detained for 28 months on the grounds that he played a role in breaking the sanctions against Iran. Following his return, he was appointed general manager of Borsa Istanbul, and resigned from this position two years later.

In June 2026, the Halkbank case, which had been going on for nine years in the USA, was dropped.

The bank was accused of playing a role in breaking sanctions against Iran.

An agreement was reached between the US Department of Justice and Halkbank in March.

In the United States, it is a common practice for witnesses who cooperate with authorities to be sentenced after the cases in which they testified are completed.

Judge Richard Berman set this date when considering the request to dismiss the case against Halkbank.