Although acts of terrorism may feel as though they occur a world away from Wall Street, in fact they now underpin anti-terrorism lawsuits against some of the world’s biggest banks. While international finance appears complex and somewhat shadowy to most of us, some attacks on American citizens stationed or working in Iraq during the war were financed by Iran with the assistance of illegal financial transactions made possible by certain global banks—in direct violation of U.S. Law.

Certain global banks admitted to violating U.S. Counter-Terrorism Sanctions and entered into Deferred Prosecution Agreements and Consent Orders with the U.S. Goverment. These banks include Credit Suisse A.G., Credit Suisse Asset Management Ltd, Standard Chartered, HSBC, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Commerzbank A.G. These global banking institutions also have a major presence in New York, and participated in processing billions of dollars in financial transactions on behalf of Iran. This money ultimately helped Iran to fund, train, and arm terrorist groups that carried out attacks against Americans in Iraq.

The admissions by these global banks now serve as a template for private anti-terrorism lawsuits. The private anti-terrorism lawsuits reach far beyond the claims of the government which paint these banks as middlemen of terror. The argument can be made that without money, the Iranians would not have been able to provide weapons to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and the Shiite militant groups.

Could You Benefit from Filing a United States Anti-Terrorism Lawsuit?

The current lawsuits against these global banks assert they are liable under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act, allowing claims against any person or entity which finances or provides material support to terrorists. If you were injured while in Iraq or Afghanistan, you could potentially be entitled to seek compensatory damages which include economic losses, punitive damages, physical injury damages, extreme mental anguish, and pain and suffering. Your anti-terrorism lawyer could potentially seek compensatory and treble damages (triple the amount of compensatory damages).

How an Anti-Terrorism Lawyer Could Help with a Free Claim Review

It could be in your best interests to speak to an experienced anti-terrorism attorney who can help you determine, through a free claim review, whether you should consider filing an anti-terrorism lawsuit. Those who were in the military, as well as civilian contractors who were in Iraq and were injured could potentially benefit from speaking to an anti-terrorism lawyer.