Faced with a US regulatory investigation and a series of lawsuits brought by families of American and Israeli victims of acts of terrorism in the Middle East, Arab Bank PLC, one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, is believed to be in the process of closing its New York branch and ending its American operations.
The decision comes as the financial institution is contemplating the impact of lawsuits alleging that it was used by a Saudi Arabian charity to pay money to the families of suicide bombers.
Quoted on Bloomberg.com, Shukry Bishara, Arab Bank’s chief banking officer has denied the bank had any knowledge of where the payments were going, however, lawyers for the American and Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism have promised to pursue the bank even if it does close down its US operations.
The lawsuits allege that the bank laundered at least six payments, given by The Saudi Committee in Support of the Intifada Al-Quds, of 20,000 Saudi riyals to relatives of bombers, which violate American anti-terrorism laws. The lawsuits seek $2 billion in damages, Bloomberg.com said. Other suits connect the bank to a total of around 200 suicide agents.
Additionally, the bank is under investigation by US authorities for being involved with funding for the Hamas terror group. The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is investigating contentions that the bank acted as a fence for the Hamas group.
The Middle East based bank said that its planned withdrawal was, in fact, a result of a change in operating strategy that determined the US environment was not suitable for its future business. However, onlookers have suggested that the bank is trying to avoid exposure to further legal attacks originating in the US.