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Does Arab Bank
support terror?
The bank, which Israeli officials call "the Grand Central Station of
terrorist financing," has been forced to shut down much of its U.S.
operation but remains a dominant player in the Middle East
This page last updated
31-Jul-10
The screen shot at left shows the father
of the terrorist who brought the bomb into the Sbarro restaurant on
9th August 2001, killing 15 people
including Malki Roth.
The astonishing allegations made by
him on the American television network NBC in 2005 against Arab
Bank, one of the largest and most powerful financial institutions in
the Middle East, are recounted in the NBC Nightly News article
republished below.
The
article [source
here]
is
based on NBC TV's May 2005 investigation of the involvement of Arab
Bank in the funding and support of acts of murder and terror,
including the murder of
Malka Chana Roth and
fourteen other innocent people in the Sbarro restaurant massacre,
9th August 2001. A video clip, embedded within the original article,
can be viewed at the end of the article, below.
The Role of Arab Bank: Terror ties at a Middle
Eastern bank?
AMMAN,
Jordan - August 2001: A suicide bomber hits the Sbarro pizza parlor
in Jerusalem, killing 15 people, including an American — Shoshana
Greenbaum, a pregnant schoolteacher. The Palestinian bomber's name
was Izz Ad-Din Al-Masri. His parents told NBC News that soon after
the bombing a group that helps families of suicide bombers told them
they'd be compensated for their son's "sacrifice."
"They told me to go to the Arab Bank and open an
account, and you will receive a salary," says the bomber's father,
Shuhail Ahmed Al-Masri. He says almost immediately, he began
receiving $140 a month. And after the Israelis leveled his house, he
says he was told to go to the bank and pick up more money — $6,000.
Al-Masri's father says he was told to open an account
at the Arab Bank branch in the West Bank settlement of Jenin. There,
he says he's received money almost every month for the last three
years. The branch, plastered with posters eulogizing suicide
bombers, isn't the only one allegedly paying bombers' families. An
ad in a Palestinian newspaper told dozens of martyrs' families to
pick up money at the nearest branchof the Arab Bank.
"Those types of payments are aiding and abetting
terrorism," says Jimmy Gurule, a former official at the U.S.
Treasury Department who was in charge of cutting off money to
terrorists.
The FBI tells NBC News that it's now conducting a
criminal investigation into the Arab Bank's alleged movement of
funds for suspected terrorists. The investigation was triggered
after U.S. regulators examined Arab Bank operations in New York City
on Madison Avenue. U.S. officials tell NBC News that regulators
found that the bank had 40 to 60 suspected terrorists and groups as
customers. They were allegedly associated with al-Qaida, Hamas and
Hezbollah. Officials say all had accounts with the bank or had moved
money through the New York office.
"I'm not aware of another situation involving a bank
operating in the U.S. that has conducted itself in such a manner,"
says Gurule.
The Arab Bank, headquartered in Jordan, turned down
repeated requests for an interview, so NBC visited bank headquarters
in Amman. And only got as far as the lobby.
Lisa Myers: Does the bank support terrorism?
Omar Al-Sheik, Arab Bank official: Of course not.
Myers: Does the bank believe it's proper to move
money to help terrorists?
Omar Al-Sheik: Of course not.
In a statement, the Arab Bank denies ever knowingly
doing business with terrorists. And officials insist the bank has
never moved money for anyone officially designated a terrorist by
the U.S. government.
However, NBC News provided the bank with documents
showing it dealt with three Hamas terror groups even after they were
blacklisted by the United States. It's against the law for banks in
the United States to handle transactions for terrorists on the
blacklist.
The bank says the three transactions still were legal
because they occurred outside the United States but that in the
future it will honor the U.S. blacklist worldwide.
As for suicide bombers, the Arab Bank strongly denies
ever knowingly handling payments for bombers' families. Their
statement reads, in part: "Arab Bank considers suicide bombings an
abominable human act."
Then what about that ad telling bombers' families to
collect money at the Arab Bank? The bank says it didn't place the
ad.
After NBC News provided account numbers for the Al-Masri
family, the bank froze the account, which the bank claims was opened
before the bombing.
Shoshana Greenbaum's father, who moved to Israel
after her death, is now suing the bank.
"This organization, if allowed to continue with a
mere slap on the wrist, would be sending a message that it's
perfectly all right to support terrorism," says Alan Hayman.
The bank, which Israeli officials call "the Grand
Central Station of terrorist financing," has been forced to shut
down much of its U.S. operation but remains a dominant player in the
Middle East.
A criminal investigation is under way
into a prominent Middle Eastern bank's possible involvement with
dozens of suspected terrorists. NBC's Lisa Myers reports. [Click the
image below to view the NBC investigative video report.]
"Arab Bank refers to Arab Bank plc and
subsidiaries.
Arab Bank plc comprises of Arab
Bank branches worldwide.
Arab Bank subsidiaries include
the following: Europe Arab Bank plc – London; Arab Bank
Australia LTD – Sydney; Arab Tunisian Bank - Tunis; Islamic
International Arab Bank plc – Amma; Al Arabi Investment Group –
Amman; Arab National Leasing Company – Amman
AMMAN –– Arab Bank on Wednesday said it will exercise all legal
options to disprove accusations that it provided banking services to
terrorist groups.
Hundreds of Israelis have filed lawsuits in a New York federal court
against Arab Bank for allegedly holding accounts that financed
attacks which killed members of their families.
On Tuesday, the Amman-based bank was sanctioned by a judge for
failing to turn over documents requested in the case.
US District Judge Nina Gershon said in a ruling in Brooklyn, New
York, that she would instruct jurors they may infer that the bank
provided financial services to groups designated as terrorist
organisations by the US and that it processed payments on behalf of
a group called the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al Quds
Intifada.
The bank’s legal adviser, Bob Chlopak, from Chlopak, Leonard,
Schechter & Associates in Washington, DC, told The Jordan Times
yesterday by e-mail: “Arab Bank has not and does not provide banking
services to known terrorists or terrorist organisations.”
“The banking services it provided to the Saudi Committee and those
related to other alleged claims in this lawsuit were routine and
lawful,” he added.
Commenting on the ruling that the financial institution has failed
to produce requested documents, the lawyer’s statement said that “in
compliance with the New York court’s orders in this litigation, Arab
Bank has produced hundreds of thousands of documents and
successfully sought waivers from bank secrecy laws in several
countries where it operates”.
“Where the bank was unable to obtain such waivers from the
appropriate authorities in certain countries, it elected not to
violate these laws,” the statement said, adding the bank's actions
were taken in good faith.
“We look forward to exercising all of our legal options regarding
the ruling and proving the falsity of the plaintiffs’ claims at
trial,” the statement noted.
In April of this year, Arab Bank filed with the US court a document
provided by the Israeli military acknowledging that the bank has no
links to terrorist activities, which it said was consistent with the
bank’s stand that the “claims in the pending lawsuits have no
merit”.
On February 25, 2004, Israeli troops, assisted by police and Shin
Bet forces, raided the Arab Bank branch in Ramallah, seizing 40
million Israeli shekels ($10.8 million) from a number of accounts,
as well as bank records.
“Seizure and confiscation of the monies in the aforementioned
accounts was not based on information that indicated that the bank
or any of its employees were involved in any way whatsoever in
terrorist activities, or funded terrorism, whether regarding the
aforementioned accounts, or in general,” said the Israeli military’s
statement, which was translated from Hebrew and made available to
The Jordan Times.
“Further to that set forth above, no legal or administrative steps
were taken against the bank or its directors [by Israeli
authorities] for involvement in acts of terrorism or in funding
terrorism, whether regarding the aforementioned accounts, or in
general,” the statement added.
Israeli authorities “have no intention of taking steps against Arab
Bank for involvement in terrorist acts or in funding terrorism”, the
statement concluded.
Arab Bank, which was first established in Jerusalem in 1930, is the
largest privately owned financial institution in the Arab world.
With a capital of over $30 billion, the bank operates through more
than 500 branches in 30 countries across five continents.
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Arab Bank Plc, accused in lawsuits by U.S.
victims of terrorist attacks in Israel of administering payments to
Palestinian suicide bombers’ families, was sanctioned by a judge for
failing to turn over documents.
U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon in Brooklyn, New York, said in a
ruling yesterday that she will instruct jurors they may infer that
Jordan-based Arab Bank provided financial services to groups
designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. and that it
processed payments on behalf of a group called the Saudi Committee
for the Support of the Intifada Al Quds.
“I am satisfied that plaintiffs have shown the high likelihood that
the withheld documents would show repeated transfers by the bank to
terrorists, terrorist organizations, or their fronts, or on their
behalf,” Gershon wrote.
The plaintiffs claim that Arab Bank handled death benefits of $5,300
each from the Saudi Committee to the families of suicide bombers.
The plaintiffs claim that by providing the financial services, the
bank aided and abetted the attacks in which they were wounded and
members of their families were killed.
“In compliance with the New York court’s orders in this litigation,
Arab Bank has produced hundreds of thousands of documents and
successfully sought waivers from bank secrecy laws in several
countries where it operates,” the bank said in a statement e-mailed
by spokesman Robert Chlopak. “Where the bank was unable to obtain
such waivers from the appropriate authorities in certain countries,
it elected not to violate these laws. The Bank’s actions were taken
in good faith.”
The lead case is Linde v. Arab Bank Plc, 04-cv-02799, U.S. District
Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
--Editors: Charles Carter, Michael Hytha.
To contact the reporter on this story: Thom Weidlich in New York at
tweidlich@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this report: David E. Rovella
at drovella@bloomberg.net.
A bank based in Jordan that had been accused of providing financial
services to terrorists was hit with judicial sanctions on Tuesday
for repeatedly failing to obey a court order to produce requested
documents in the case — a six-year-old lawsuit filed by the victims
of terrorist attacks.
Judge Nina Gershon of United States District Court in Brooklyn said
that the “recalcitrance” of Arab Bank in releasing records required
her, out of fairness to the plaintiffs, to instruct the jury that it
may infer that the bank knowingly and purposefully worked on behalf
of the terrorist organizations, including processing and
distributing payments made by a Saudi organization to the relatives
of suicide bombers. “The withheld evidence is not only relevant but
also essential to proof of their claims,” she wrote.
A trial date has not been set.
The decision represents a major setback for Arab Bank, which has
said it is unwilling to release the documents in question because
they cannot be disclosed without violating foreign bank secrecy laws
— an argument that the court previously rejected. The bank released
a statement after the ruling saying it was examining its legal
options.
“In compliance with the New York court’s orders in this litigation,
Arab Bank has produced hundreds of thousands of documents and
successfully sought waivers from bank secrecy laws in several
countries where it operates,” the statement said. “Where the bank
was unable to obtain such waivers from the appropriate authorities
in certain countries, it elected not to violate these laws. The
bank’s actions were taken in good faith.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs — which include about 100 Americans and
700 foreigners, mostly Israelis, who were injured or killed during
attacks in Israel and their family members — praised the decision.
They said the documents that they had sought, including internal
e-mail messages and memos, would have demonstrated that the bank was
aware of the identity of its customers.
“This will be a precedent that will help victims of terrorism bring
cases against banks and others who help finance terrorism,” said
Mark Werbner, one of the lawyers.
The lawsuit, which was the first to go after an international bank
for its role in financing terrorism when it was filed in 2004,
alleges that Arab Bank administered the accounts of the Saudi
Committee in Support of the Intifada Al Quds, which provided
payments of $5,316 to the families of Palestinians who were killed
in attacks on Israel, including suicide bombers. It also alleges
that the bank administers accounts for other individuals and
organizations involved in terrorism, including Hamas.
The bank, which said it had assets of $50 billion and operations in
more than 30 countries worldwide, including a branch in New York,
has strongly denied that it knowingly provided banking services to
terrorists, calling its actions routine and lawful. Shortly after
the lawsuit was filed, the bank agreed to pay a $24 million civil
fine for having inadequate controls to protect against money
laundering at the New York branch. (This May it closed two of its
three branches in the Gaza Strip, which is now controlled by Hamas,
which is listed as a terrorist organization in the United States and
Europe.)
Judge Gershon said that the public record was already sufficient to
demonstrate that the Arab Bank withheld evidence that would support
the plaintiffs’ claims, pointing to the bank’s admission that it
maintained accounts for individuals and organizations involved with
terrorism and allowed transfers to them.
“I am satisfied that plaintiffs have shown the high likelihood that
the withheld documents would show repeated transfers by the bank to
terrorists, terrorist organizations or their fronts, or on their
behalf,” she wrote.
A version of this article appeared in print on July 14, 2010, on
page A22 of the New York edition.
[July
16, 2010 01:32 PM]
It looks like the 6 year old
Linde v Arab Bank case may finally move into its trial on the
merits phase following a ruling July 12th by US District Court Judge
Nina Gershon that:
"The factual allegations of the
complaints sufficiently support an inference that Arab Bank and
the terrorist organizations were participants in a common plan
under which Arab Bank would supply necessary financial services
to the organizations which would themselves perform the violent
acts. Administering the death and dismemberment benefit plan
further supports not only the existence of an agreement but Arab
Bank's knowing and intentional participation in the agreement's
illegal goals. No more is required."
The case had been locked in its
discovery phase for some time pending rulings on Arab Bank’s refusal
to provide documentation concerning such financial transfers.
Plaintiffs maintained that such documents, if provided, would
establish that Arab Bank participated knowingly in this money
raising and transferring scheme. Arab Bank’s attorneys maintained
that they were precluded from providing such documents because of
Jordanian and other country bank secrecy laws. The ruling reflects
Judge Gershon’s determination that the refusal to comply with the
court's order that such documents be made available to the
plaintiffs pursuant to discovery requests merits legal sanctions
against Arab Bank. And, the judge's instruction to the jury that
they can draw the above inference from this lack of production of
such documents is the appropriate remedy. This ruling is fully in
line with legal precedent in such cases of non production of court
ordered documents.
The Linde case was brought before the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in July
2004 by six American families, victims of Palestinian terrorism in
Israel during the Al Aqsa Intifada. They sued Jordan's Arab Bank
under section 2333 of the Anti Terrorism Act of 1996 alleging that
Arab Bank had encouraged such terrorism by disbursing millions of
dollars in support payment for families of suicide bombers, which
served as a further incentive for attacks.
Section 2333 provides that “Any
national of the United States injured in his or her person,
property, or business by reason of an act of international
terrorism, or his or her estate, survivors, or heirs, may sue {in
Federal Court} … and … recover threefold the damages he or she
sustains and the cost of the suit, including attorney’s fees.” The
District Court also permitted foreign nationals to join the lawsuit
via the Alien Torts Claims Act. Currently, more than 100 families
and 700 individuals in the Linde case and related cases are seeking
more than $1 billion in damages based on Arab Bank’s role in
financially supporting terrorist activities. The foreign nationals
consist mostly of Israeli citizens but also include Afghani,
Argentinian, Australian, Belarusian, Canadian, French, Iranian,
Iraqi, Peruvian, South African, Turkmenian, Ukranian, and Uzbeki
citizens.
The payments were transferred by Arab
Bank to and through several charities that allegedly serve as fronts
for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Al Aqsa Martyr’s
Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. These
funds were originally collected by two special committees
established in Saudi Arabia with the stated intention of raising
funds for the families of those carrying out suicide missions at the
behest of the named terrorist organizations. Some of these funds
were routed through Arab Bank’s New York office in order to convert
the funds into U.S. dollars. The Palestinian charities named in the
suit include, inter alia, the Popular Committee for Support of the
Intifada (the “Popular Committee”), the Coalition of Benevolence
(the “Coalition”), the Humanitarian Relief Association (the “HRA”),
the Al-Ansar Society, and the Tulkarem Charitable Committee.
The Arab Bank case will likely move
forward before a jury at the same time as Canada’s Parliament takes
up new legislation that would also grant victims of terrorism the
right to hold those that finance terrorism liable for damages. Final
Parliamentary committee hearings on this legislation were held
earlier this month, and passage of the act is expected when
Parliament reconvenes in October. This is due in large part to the
unceasing efforts of C-CAT, the
Canadian Coalition Against Terrorism, which has become the
leading voice for victims of terrorism in Canada. I had an
opportunity to testify in the course of these hearings. A webcast of
the hearings can be found
here.
CounterTerrorism Blog [http://counterterrorismblog.org]
is the first multi-expert blog dedicated solely to
counterterrorism issues, serving as a gateway to the community for
policymakers and serious researchers. Designed to provide realtime
information about terrorism cases and policy developments.
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