A war veteran and his mother have filed a lawsuit against the banks that allegedly financed the creation of weapons used in an IED blast that nearly killed the man.

Plaintiff Ryan B. and his mother Sandra say Ryan was severely injured on April 13, 2009. At the time, he was 23 years old and serving in the U.S. military in Iraq. He was riding in a Chinook helicopter. He says he wasn’t clipped in when an IED attack was launched by terrorists, who were working at the direction of Hezbollah, which the U.S. designated as a terrorist organization in 1997.

The pilot of the helicopter made evasive moves to avoid impact by the IED blast. Ryan was violently bounced the helicopter, allegedly causing him to incur a traumatic brain injury and a permanent injury to his spine.

The Veterans Administration has deemed Ryan to be 100 percent disabled.

Since the attack, Ryan alleges he has suffered severe physical and mental anguish and extreme emotional pain and suffering. As a result of the attack and the injuries incurred to her son, plaintiff Sandra Bowman has endured severe mental anguish with extreme emotional pain and suffering.

Allegations of IED Blast Circumstances

The U.S. had not declared war or enacted an Authorization for the Use of Military Action Force against Iran at the time of the attack on the helicopter carrying Ryan.

The attack, and many like it, were made by Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF, which is Iran’s Quds Force, a special branch of Iran’s revolutionary guards.

According to an October 2007 report from the U.S. Treasury Department, “The Qods Force provides lethal support in the form of weapons, training, funding, and guidance to select groups of Iraqi Shia militants who target and kill Coalition and Iraqi forces and innocent Iraqi civilians.”

The Qods Force allegedly supplied between $100 million and $200 million per year to Hezbollah.

One British official described the Qods Force as combining “the functions of MI6, the SAS, the DfID, it is Iran’s long arm – everywhere.”

How the Banks are Allegedly Involved

Ryan’s IED explosion complaint alleges a conspiracy existed starting in 1987 among Iran, its banking agents, and several international banks. They all allegedly “knowingly participated in a criminal scheme in which they agreed to alter, falsify, or omit information from bank-to-bank payment orders sent on the SWIFT private financial messaging network (“SWIFT-NET”) operated by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Telecommunication (“SWIFT-Brussels”) that involved Iran or Iranian parties…”

The reasons for the conspiracy allegedly included the concealment of Iran’s financial activities from U.S. regulators and for sending millions of dollars to fund terrorist activities, including the creation and detonation of IEDs.

Among the banks accused of helping finance terrorism activities initiated by Iran are:

• HSBC Holdings PLC
• HSBC Bank PLC
• HSBC Bank Middle East Limited
• HSBC Bank USA, N.A.
• Barclays Bank, PLC
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Royal Bank of Scotland, N.V.
• Credit Suisse AG
• Bank Saderat PLC
• Commerzbank AG

Financial institutions, terrorist organizations, and individuals continue to be held accountable for their orchestrated funding of Hezbollah. In December, a Lebanese Belgian citizen pleaded guilty to committing nearly $1 billion in illegal transactions since 2009 to help Hezbollah financially. The man struck a deal with U.S. federal prosecutors. He will give up $50 million and spend five years in prison for the IED incident. 

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.

Learn More