Arab Bank hit with judicial sanctions by U.S. District Court in terrorism aid lawsuit
Arab Bank, headquartered in Amman, Jordan and among the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, has been a defendant for six years in on-going anti-terrorism litigation known as Almog v. Arab Bank. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of both American and international terrorism victims for allegedly providing financial and other support to terrorist organizations, including Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
On Tuesday, July 13, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Gershon issued a court order in the Arab Bank lawsuit stating that the jury "will be instructed that, based on the defendant's failure to produce documents, it may, but is not required to, infer that the defendant provided financial services to organizations designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and to individuals affiliated with the FTOs."
A trial date has not yet been set, but Judge Gershon wrote of her decision,"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."
Read more about the Arab Bank Lawsuit in the full article featured by The New York Times.