Turkey's Halkbank pleads not guilty to U.S. criminal charges

Turkey's state-owned Halkbank on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a federal court in Manhattan that it helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions, in a case that has strained relations between the United States and Turkey.

The plea - to charges including conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering - was entered by the bank's U.S. lawyer at a hearing conducted by telephone conference because of the coronavirus pandemic.