Logos are seen outside a branch of Barclays bank in London July 30, 2013.
Logos are seen outside a branch of Barclays bank in London July 30, 2013. Reuters/Stringer

Five European banks are facing a lawsuit in the U.S. filed by war veterans who served in Iraq. The banks have been accused of having processed Iranian money for financing insurgents to attack the U.S. soldiers. The lawsuit makes a collective claim of 200 people who included the relatives of soldiers who died in Iraq. It was filed in a New York court on Nov 10 under the 1992 U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act.

Leading Banks

The law suit named Barclays, Credit Suisse Group, HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland as the culpable banks, They have been charged with having violated the norms on sanctions imposed upon Iran and disguised the movement of money wired through the U.S. to Iran, reports RFERL. News

The suit estimated that nearly $100 million was channeled by Iranian banks to the insurgent groups in Iraq. The plaintiffs claimed the insurgents were armed, trained and funded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The US Anti-Terrorism Act mandates victims to bring private lawsuits against the alleged moneymen behind militant operations, reports the Independent. It is the latest in the U.S. government cases against the banks for handling money in breach of its sanctions against Iran, Libya and Cuba. On such cases, some banks have settled the matter off court. That included Credit Suisse, which agreed to pay more than £3 billion to the U.S. in so-called deferred prosecution agreements to keep the cases out of the criminal courts in lieu of a big fine and a promise not to offend in the future.

Though the banks declined to comment, some analysts said they can defend that there was no alleged connection between the banks' handling of Iranian cash and the funds going to Iraqi militias. According to Patrick Farr, a California-based litigant whose son was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the legal action gave him "a sense that I was able to do something and hold someone accountable for his death."

Arab Bank Case

There is already a precedent in which the Arab Bank was indicted by a jury for financingthe Hamas in Israel and Palestine. The case of U.S. war veterans is also being fought brought by the same lawyers, Gary Osen and Tab Turner. While the European banks are accused of indirect support, the legal team targeted the Arab Bank for direct help by transferring cash to alleged Hamas leaders. That case was filed and heard in Brooklyn, New York. Attorney Gary Osen told Reuters that each defendant or bank was aware that their conduct was part of a larger scheme by Iran. But they were deliberately indifferent."