U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday rejected an Arab Bank Plc’s attempt to overturn the jury verdict that found it liable for terrorist attacks in Israel, Reuters reported.
The Jordan-based Arab Bank had been found guilty of knowingly causing 24 attacks in in the early 2000s, by running transactions and routing money for Hamas, including paying charities supporting the families of suicide bombers.
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Judge Cogan said he found “ample” evidence to support jury’s Sept. 22, 2014 decision.
Judge Cogan also pointed to a “cornucopia” of circumstantial evidence that Arab Bank either knew or was “willfully blind” about the Hamas affiliations of the Islamic charities it sent money to.
“The verdict was based on volumes of damning circumstantial evidence that defendant knew its customers were terrorists, ” Cogan wrote in a 96-page decision.
However, Cogan did dismiss claims based on two out of the 24 terrorist attacks, on the grounds that there was no direct evidence that Hamas was behind them.
On July 13 there will be another trial, to determine damages for three of the confirmed 22 attacks.
The plaintiffs in this case have been 297 victims, either directly injured, or whose loved ones were killed or injured in 24 terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas. They pointed a finger at Arab Bank, which handled transfers and payments for individuals associated with Hamas.
Reuters noted that damages in the case are still not finalized, but that they could be tripled under the anti-terrorism law.
Arab Bank is estimated to have $46 billion in assets.
