Families of U.S. citizens killed or wounded in bombing attacks in Israel have filed an $875 million lawsuit against the Amman-based Arab Bank, accusing it of channeling money to Palestinian "terrorist" groups and making insurance payments to beneficiaries of suicide bombers.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York, claims the bank's New York branch laundered Saudi aid to "terrorists." The branch first converted the money into dollars and then sent it to local branches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip where it was paid out to bombers and armed organizations, the suit alleges, according to The AP.
The bank also worked with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to distribute insurance money to beneficiaries of suicide bombers, including their families and those wounded or captured by Israeli security forces, the lawsuit adds.
"We have a mountain of evidence that will prove that the bank not only knows about the terror financing, but is actively involved and using its New York branch to launder the money," Mark Werbner, the lead attorney for the families, said in a statement Tuesday.
The lawsuit, Linde v. Arab Bank, includes six U.S. families whose members have died or been wounded in attacks in Israel.
Among them is Courtney Linde, the widow of John Linde Jr., a security guard from Missouri who was killed when a roadside bomb destroyed a vehicle in a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip last October.
Arab Bank has 30 branches across the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Australia and North Africa. It often leads the Amman Stock Exchange. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
