Istanbul Stock Exchange Director Resigns

According to a statement released by the exchange Monday, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a Turkish banker convicted of assisting Iran in evading US sanctions, has resigned as the president of Turkey's Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange.

The statement added that Atilla resigned "of his own volition," and the board of directors approved his decision on Monday. Bloomberg announced last week that Atilla was planning to resign later this month, citing anonymous sources, though no reasons have been verified.

The move comes ahead of a New York trial of the Turkish state-owned stock exchange Halkbank, expected to begin in May. The bank faces a fine of up to $20 billion for facilitating transactions that helped Iranian officials circumvent US sanctions in 2012 and 2013 for the nation’s nuclear program. As a former deputy executive of Halkbank, Atilla was convicted in 2018 of participating without profiting in the scheme and served a 28-month prison sentence in the United States.

The change comes ahead of the Turkish state-owned Halkbank's New York trial, which is set to begin in May. The bank could face a fine of up to $20 billion for facilitating transactions that helped Iranian officials avoid US sanctions on the country's nuclear program in 2012 and 2013.

Atilla was accused of engaging in the scheme without profiting in 2018 as a former deputy executive of Halkbank and served a 28-month prison term in the United States.