Posted on 05/12/2008 4:10:03 PM PDT by SJackson
HIZBOLLAH VICTIMS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL SUIT AGAINST MEGA-BANK
May 12, 2008
For Immediate Release
VICTIMS OF HIZBOLLAH MISSILE ATTACKS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL ACTION AGAINST UBS IN NEW YORK FEDERAL COURT
A group of American victims of Iranian sponsored terror have filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District against the Swiss mega-bank, UBS AG. The plaintiffs, all of whom had family members injured or killed in Iranian-backed terror attacks, allege that UBS' unlawful eight year-long provision of financial services to the Islamic Republic at the time Iran was providing material support to terrorist organizations renders the bank liable for the harm that has been inflicted upon them and their families.
Included amongst the plaintiffs are three families who were physically and emotionally harmed by the Katyusha rockets launched by Hizbollah into Israeli cities during the 2006 war with Lebanon. This is the first civil action brought by American victims of Hizbollah's katyusha rocket attacks.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Robert Tolchin of New York City and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Tel Aviv, Israel.
The allegations against UBS center around the Swiss bank's involvement in transferring dollars to outlaw regimes such as Iran, Libya and Cuba. The UBS operation was uncovered by American soldiers in Iraq in 2003 who discovered brand new dollars, still wrapped in Federal Reserve casings behind a wall in Saddam Huessein's palace. A Federal Reserve investigation of the currency determined that UBS was responsible for illegally transferring between $4 to $5 billion to states designated by the U.S. as sponsors of terrorism between 1996 and 2004.
At first UBS sought to deny the extent of the money transfers it had provided to Iran and others, but confronted with overwhelming evidence, eventually was compelled to admit the scope of its criminal activities. UBS, one of world's wealthiest banks, was fined a $100 millions by the Federal Reserve for its conduct.
The plaintiffs allege that without the provision of American dollars to Tehran, the Islamic regime would not have been able to support terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah. The terrorist groups need the easily convertible and readily accepted American dollars to purchase weapons (such as Katyushas) and explosives as well as to facilitate their terrorist training programs and to fund suicide bombings. The lawsuit charges UBS, which has a branch in New York, with aiding and abetting Iran's support of terror by illegally providing Tehran the dollars it needed to pass along to the terrorist groups for their purchases and attacks. .
"UBS knew full well that the cash dollars it was providing to a state sponsor of terrorism such as Iran would be used to cause and facilitate terrorist attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hizbollah and PIJ," said Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. The plaintiffs are demanding that UBS compensate them for the injuries they suffered as a result of Iranian terror attacks in Israel.
FOR MORE INFORMATION & A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Esq. (US) 212-591-0073 (Israel) 011-972-523-837020
Mike Cohen (Israel) 011.972.54.499.6453
Robert Tolchin, Esq. (US) 212-227-2780
Email: mike@israelpoc.com
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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This is a good first step...
I’ve long believed that if you really want to stop this sort of thing (terrorism), the money people need to start turning up dead, not just being fined...
But it’s a start... Maybe someday they’ll get serious.
Mark
Good. More power to them. I have no idea why UBS is still being allowed to do business in the US, given their track record of financing terrorism. Between their massive write-offs related to mortgage derivatives, the recently filed US federal tax evasion suit against them, and now the Hizbollah victims’ suit, maybe this large criminal enterprise can finally be deposited on the ash heap of history.
soooo...who’s on their Board??
Good idea. Though how you sue a foreign firm that did it’s business outside US borders is a mystery to me.
You sue them within the US, because they do extensive business within the US.
I agree. Some would argue they have many US employees, but if we can break up ATT, I see no reason that as a reward for financing terrorists we can't force UBS to divest their US holding. Let them do it somewhere else. And if an American bank picks up their assets at a bargain price, so be it. Of course that would likely require legislation, and there's no way the administration will go anywhere near this.
Were you thinking they should be sued personally? Not a bad idea.
I wish these people justice.
DECEMBER 2006 : (FUTURE OBAMA BUNDLER ROBERT WOLF- PRESIDENT OF THE SWISS UBS BANK & CHAIRMAN OF UBS AMERICAS- MEETS OBAMA IN A CONFERENCE ROOM OWNED BY GEORGE SOROS) According to campaign reporter John Heilemann, Obama and Wolf first met in December 2006 in a conference room owned by liberal billionaire George Soros. . . (Excerpt) Read more at freebeacon.com ...------Obama’s Swiss Banker, The WASHIGTON FREE BEACON ^ | April 24, 2012 | By Andrew Stiles Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 7:00:35 PM by Brad from Tennessee
...the Swiss mega-bank, UBS AG. The plaintiffs, all of whom had family members injured or killed in Iranian-backed terror attacks, allege that UBS' unlawful eight year-long provision of financial services to the Islamic Republic at the time Iran was providing material support to terrorist organizations renders the bank liable for the harm that has been inflicted upon them and their families. Included amongst the plaintiffs are three families who were physically and emotionally harmed by the Katyusha rockets launched by Hizbollah into Israeli cities during the 2006 war with Lebanon.
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