Economics
Turkey State-Run Bank Sinks After U.S. Sanctions Case Arrest
- Halkbank deputy CEO was taken into custody at JFK Airport
- Shares slump as much as 19%, dragging whole stocks gauge lower
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The biggest state-owned bank on Turkey’s stock market plunged the most on record on Wednesday after its deputy chief executive was arrested in the U.S., accused of using his position at the bank to help facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The shares of Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, as the lender is formally known, fell as much as 19 percent in Istanbul, knocking 2.1 billion liras ($576 million) off its market value. Traders exchanged almost 153 million shares by 4:56 p.m., the most since the shares were listed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer now detained in the U.S., faces charges including conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran and banking fraud.