Lawsuit against Arab Bank

Here's another good reason for financial institutions to have strong anti-money laundering policies and procedures in place - litigation. This Bloomberg story details the lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn by the families of 30 bombing victims against Arab Bank. [Coulter v. Arab Bank, CV-05-365]

The lawsuit claims that a "Saudi charity that has collected more than $100 million for Palestinians made payments to the relatives of suicide bombers through Arab Bank Plc." However, Arab Bank's attorney says that the banks "compliance procedures to block suspect transactions are significantly greater in the region than are required locally," and denies that the bank had any part in funding the terrorist.