US Federal Jury found Arab Bank liable for backing terrorism

The Brooklyn Federal Jury of New York, the US on 22 September 2014 found the Jordan-based multinational Arab Bank liable of supporting terrorism on 24 counts by transferring funds to Hamas. The federal jury held the bank for two dozen attacks on Middle East.

This was the first time ever that a Bank or a financial institution has been held liable in civil suit for supporting terrorism. Also, this was the first major verdict under the Anti-terrorism Act, 2001 of the US.

The Jury accused the bank of knowingly supporting specific terrorist acts in and around Israel during the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War that began in 2000.

The Jury asked the bank to compensate the victims of attacks those were allegedly carried out in Israel and Palestinian Authority-controlled territories. The verdict was pronounced after a six-week trial in a Brooklyn federal court. The federal law suit was filed in 2004.

The lawyer of the case against the bank was Gary Osen. He was representing around 300 American relatives and the victims of 24 attacks those were carried out in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The Arab Bank Group has more than 600 branches in 30 countries, with assets worth 46.4 billion US dollars and a shareholders' equity base of 7.8 billion US dollars as recorded in 2013.