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Israelis Sue Bank of China for Aiding Terrorists
China bank accused of illegal money transfers
LOS ANGELES -- More than 100 victims of terrorism in Israel filed a lawsuit Thursday against one of
China's largest banks demanding the institution stop transferring money to terrorist groups.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Bank of China Ltd. transferred millions of dollars to the militant Hamas group and Islamic Jihad, ignoring demands by Israeli counterterrorism officials to halt the practice.
The bank "knowingly assisted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorist attacks" and did so through the bank's U.S. branches even though such transfers are against American law, said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
The suit alleges the money helped fund attacks between 2004 and 2007.
The plaintiffs, who include the family of a 4 year-old boy killed during a 2004 attack, are being represented by attorneys in Los Angeles, New York and Israel.
Officials from the Bank of China in Los Angeles and New York did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The lawsuit claims that beginning in July 2003, the Bank of China put through dozens of wire transfers for the groups totaling several million dollars. Many of the transfers were initiated in the Middle East, sent to branches in the U.S., then to an account at a bank branch in Guanzhou, China, the suit said.
The money was then wired to group leaders in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip "for the purpose of planning, preparing for and executing terrorist attacks," the suit said.
In April 2005, Israeli officials met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and China's Central Bank seeking action to prevent the Bank of China from making more transfers, but the practice continued, the suit claims
LOS ANGELES -- More than 100 victims of terrorism in Israel filed a lawsuit Thursday against one of
China's largest banks demanding the institution stop transferring money to terrorist groups.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court claims Bank of China Ltd. transferred millions of dollars to the militant Hamas group and Islamic Jihad, ignoring demands by Israeli counterterrorism officials to halt the practice.
The bank "knowingly assisted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorist attacks" and did so through the bank's U.S. branches even though such transfers are against American law, said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
The suit alleges the money helped fund attacks between 2004 and 2007.
The plaintiffs, who include the family of a 4 year-old boy killed during a 2004 attack, are being represented by attorneys in Los Angeles, New York and Israel.
Officials from the Bank of China in Los Angeles and New York did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The lawsuit claims that beginning in July 2003, the Bank of China put through dozens of wire transfers for the groups totaling several million dollars. Many of the transfers were initiated in the Middle East, sent to branches in the U.S., then to an account at a bank branch in Guanzhou, China, the suit said.
The money was then wired to group leaders in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip "for the purpose of planning, preparing for and executing terrorist attacks," the suit said.
In April 2005, Israeli officials met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and China's Central Bank seeking action to prevent the Bank of China from making more transfers, but the practice continued, the suit claims
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