Although prosecuting terrorists can help hold criminals accountable for deadly attacks, the U.S. is taking their pursuit of justice one step farther by going after international banks accused of funding terrorism.

In March 2018, a federal court in Arizona convicted Syrian bomb-maker Ahmed Alahmedalabdaloklah of four terrorism-related counts. Alahmedalabdaloklah played a huge role in the Iraq war by making weapons and roadside bombs which killed over 1,700 U.S. soldiers. Although Alahmedalabdaloklah’s conviction marks a victory for the U.S. and those harmed by the roadside bombs, the fight is not over.

The U.S. is currently aiming to hold numerous international banks accountable for funding terrorism during the Iraq war. The banks in question allegedly worked with Iran and laundered hundreds of billions of dollars to fund terrorist operations in Iraq. Numerous banks are accused of funding terrorism including HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Lloyd’s TSB Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, ABN AMRO (and its buyer the Royal Bank of Scotland), and Credit Lyonnais (and its successor Credit Agricole Investment Bank).

These banks allegedly conspired with the Iranian government in funding terrorism. To bypass U.S. restrictions against doing business with Iranian entities, and to avoid full disclosure, the banks allegedly used falsified records to transfer Iranian money into U.S. dollars. By committing various levels of fraud, the banks were allegedly assisting Iran’s shady dealings and funding terrorism.

Since the U.S. government began investigating the issue in the early years of the Iraq war, numerous of the banks in question have accepted responsibility for funding terrorism. In 2009, Credit Suisse agreed to pay a $536 million penalty as part of an agreement with the Department of Justice. In the same year, Lloyd’s TSB Bank agreed to pay a $350 million fine for violating U.S. banking regulations.

In 2010, the Department of Justice announced that it had entered a deal with ABN AMRO, a Dutch bank then owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. As a part of this deal, ABN paid $500 million in fines and admitted that they were responsible for funding terrorism. Later in 2010, Barclays forfeited $298 million and accepted responsibility for violating regulations and funding terrorism.

2012 was another busy year for the Department of Justice. That year, HSBC agreed to pay nearly $1.3 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. “The record of dysfunction that prevailed at HSBC for many years was astonishing,” said Lanny Breuer, then the Assistant Attorney General.

In the same year, Standard Chartered forfeited $227 million as a penalty for behavior which the Justice Department dubbed “flagrant”. An investigation into the bank was reopened in 2014, leading to an additional fine of $300 million.

More recently, Deutsche paid $200 million in 2015 and entered into an agreement with the New York Department of Financial Services.

Investigations into banks funding terrorism are ongoing, and the cases may take years to resolve. In the meantime, the families of injured and deceased soldiers are waiting.

Although the U.S. government recovered billions of dollars in penalties and forfeitures, the families of soldiers injured by roadside bombs have not been able to recover any compensation. By filing lawsuits against the banks responsible for funding terrorism, injured soldiers and the families of deceased soldiers may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, wrongful death, funeral expenses, and more.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed by an IED or EFP while fighting in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, legal recourse is available. Get help now by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or anti-terrorist class action lawsuit is best for you. (In general, anti-terrorist lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.) After you fill out the form, the attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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