The Law Firm of Motley Rice LLC

Continuing its groundbreaking fight against terrorism in the courts, Motley Rice LLC filed an unprecedented civil action against the Arab Bank, plc, on behalf of more than 700 survivors and family members of those killed or maimed by terrorism in Israel. Plaintiffs in the suit currently include citizens of the United States, Israel, Russia, France, Poland, Romania, Argentina, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Afghanistan. The suit alleges that Arab Bank, plc has aided and abetted genocide and crimes against humanity in violation of the law of nations by serving as the paymaster to families of terrorist suicide bombers. Such funding provides incentive for future suicide bombers to carry out their deadly attacks against unwitting and innocent civilians within Israel.

The Complaint filed in the case notes that Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among others, "have long and openly adhered to a shared mission: to topple and eradicate the State of Israel [and] to expel the Jews" by conducting "suicide bombings and other shockingly egregious violent acts which constitute violations of fundamental and universally recognized precepts of international law." Click here to view the Complaint.

Arab Bank, plc empowered these terrorist organizations "by serving as the 'paymaster' to the families of those terrorists who carried out suicide bombings." In particular, the defendant served, among other things, as the banker for a massive, government-supported fundraising campaign in Saudi Arabia that has funneled more than $4 billion from public and private Saudi sources to Palestinian terrorist groups and the families of suicide bombers. Arab Bank, plc created and managed a formalized process which requires beneficiaries to obtain an official certification of their deceased relative's status as a suicide bomber before receiving money.

Arab Bank, plc is headquartered in Amman, Jordan and is one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East with a global network of more than 400 branches and offices in 25 countries, including the United States. Furthermore, it has 22 branches throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip that facilitated its usage as the paymaster to the families of suicide bombers. The bank has also operated a federally chartered branch in New York City for 20 years. The Complaint alleges that this branch facilitated the conversion of currency from Saudi Riyals to U.S. Dollars for transfer to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Plaintiffs in this case are represented by a team of attorneys at Motley Rice LLC who have honed their practice of fighting terrorism in the groundbreaking 9/11 suit. They are accompanied by a co-lead counsel Dr. Allan Gerson, an international law specialist who broke new legal ground in helping the families of those who lost their lives on Pan Am Flight 103 pursue their claims against Libya.

In addition, the litigation team is assisted by counsel from across the globe, including Jason McCue of H2O Law in London who brought the first civil action in the world against terrorists (the Real IRA for the Omagh bombing); Gavriel Mairone of Mann & Mairone, Ramat Gan, Israel, who is widely recognized as a top security, intelligence and legal expert on Middle Eastern terrorism; David Mena of David Mena & Co. Law Offices, a former member of the Israeli Knesset; and Lee Wolosky of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP who was director for transnational threats on the National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and Tally Eitan of the Eitan Law Group in Herzliya, Israel.