Arab Bank denies funding terrorists

AMMAN – The Arab Bank, a pillar of Jordan’s economy, strongly denied yesterday US press reports suggesting it facilitated the flow of funds from Saudi Arabia to Palestinian “terrorists” or their families.

“We consider the whole episode as totally unfounded,” Shukri Bishara, a senior executive at the Amman-based bank, told AFP. According to US press reports published on Tuesday, relatives of Americans killed in terrorist attacks in Israel of the occupied Palestinian territories have filed a lawsuit against the Arab Bank.A statement released by the Arab Bank’s New York branch said that “according to various media reports, a lawsuit was filed late on Friday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York”.No one at Arab Bank or its legal representatives have seen the complaint yet but its basic assertions are completely false and totally irresponsible.Bishara insisted that “matter of payments are very highly regulated, both in the States and in Palestine and in every country we work”.A report on the New York Times website yesterday said that a “civil complaint filed on Friday in Federal District Court in Brooklyn (New York) seeks US$875 million (N$5,4 billion) in damages” for family members of US nationals killed “in terrorists attacks in Israel”.”The suit says Arab Bank set up accounts to channel funds from an organisation run by the Saudi government, the Saudi Committee for Supporting Al Quds (Jerusalem) intifada, to at least two militant Palestinian groups, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the Time said.-Nampa-AFPAccording to US press reports published on Tuesday, relatives of Americans killed in terrorist attacks in Israel of the occupied Palestinian territories have filed a lawsuit against the Arab Bank.A statement released by the Arab Bank’s New York branch said that “according to various media reports, a lawsuit was filed late on Friday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York”.No one at Arab Bank or its legal representatives have seen the complaint yet but its basic assertions are completely false and totally irresponsible.Bishara insisted that “matter of payments are very highly regulated, both in the States and in Palestine and in every country we work”.A report on the New York Times website yesterday said that a “civil complaint filed on Friday in Federal District Court in Brooklyn (New York) seeks US$875 million (N$5,4 billion) in damages” for family members of US nationals killed “in terrorists attacks in Israel”.”The suit says Arab Bank set up accounts to channel funds from an organisation run by the Saudi government, the Saudi Committee for Supporting Al Quds (Jerusalem) intifada, to at least two militant Palestinian groups, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the Time said.-Nampa-AFP