US embassy ‘defends’ Arab Bank

Jordan Times
October 6, 2011
Omar Obeidat

AMMAN –– As the Arab Bank continues to face allegations in the US that it provided banking services to terrorist groups, cables by the US embassy in Amman, revealed recently by WikiLeaks, defended the financial institution’s reputation.

A few years ago, hundreds of Israelis filed lawsuits in a New York federal court against the bank for allegedly holding accounts that financed attacks that killed members of their families.

On July 12, 2010, a judge imposed sanctions on the Amman-based bank for failing to turn over documents requested in the case.

US District Court Judge Nina Gershon said in a ruling in Brooklyn, New York, that she would instruct jurors they may infer that the bank provided financial services to groups designated as terrorist organisations by the US and that it processed payments on behalf of a group called the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al Quds Intifada.

In three cables released by WikiLeaks, the US embassy in Amman has reportedly emphasised that the Arab Bank has always been a transparent financial institution that has never had ties with any “terrorist” organisation…

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