Criminal Proceedings Against Foreign State-Owned Enterprises and the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

The United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) grants sovereign immunity to foreign states and may extend the immunity to instrumentalities and agents of foreign states, including state-owned enterprises. It has been clear that sovereign immunity under the FSIA can be addressed in civil cases where foreign states defendants may object jurisdiction of U.S. courts. However, whether such immunity of the FSIA can be granted in criminal proceedings had not been resolved. Finally, in April, 2023, in Türkiye Halk Bankasi S.A. v. United States (Halkbank), the United States Supreme Court clarified that a foreign state-owned enterprise can be subject to criminal proceedings in U.S. courts, but with regard to immunity, the FSIA does not cover criminal cases. Still, a question whether the foreign state-owned enterprise has the jurisdictional immunity under common laws needs to be solved. This paper reviews the FSIA and the Halbank case to discuss the jurisdictional immunity of foreign states in criminal proceedings. Then, the paper examines the extraterritorial application of some U.S. criminal statutes on foreign state-owned enterprises and relevant cases in order to find a way how to prosecute foreign state-owned enterprises involving criminal activities by stealing trade secrets, taking or paying bribes, and involving money laundering.