Weiss v National Westminster Bank

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Osen LLC (together with a team of law firms from Pennsylvania, New York and Arkansas) represents more than twenty families who were victims of terrorist attacks committed by the Palestinian terrorist organization known as Hamas. The Fifth Amended Complaint in National Westminster Bank, Plc alleges that National Westminster Bank (“NatWest”), a multinational British bank, and a prominent subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, provided banking services and maintained accounts for Interpal, a British entity designated a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the United States Government in August 2003.

The United States Treasury Department issued a statement in connection with its August 2003 designation of Interpal in which it proclaimed:

Interpal, headquartered in the UK, has been a principal charity utilized to hide the flow of money to HAMAS. Reports indicate it is the conduit through which money flows to HAMAS from other charities, e.g. the Al Aqsa Foundation (designated under EO 13224 on May 29^th) and oversees the activities of other charities. Reports further indicate that Interpal is the fundraising coordinator of HAMAS. This role is of the type that includes supervising activities of charities, developing new charities in targeted areas, instructing how funds should be transferred from one charity to another, and even determining public relations policy.

The Weiss lawsuit alleges that as a result of Interpal’s financial support to Hamas institutions, the State of Israel outlawed Interpal in 1997, and designated it a terrorist organization in 1998.

As detailed in the Weiss Fifth Amended Complaint, from 1995 to 2007, NatWest maintained accounts for Interpal and transferred funds at Interpal’s behest to HAMAS-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Weiss plaintiffs further allege that as far back as 1996, NatWest knew that its customer, Interpal, was transferring money to Hamas-controlled entities.

In denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint, the Court noted:

[D]efendant has pointed to no case law, nor can this Court find any, which holds that an American Court must decline to apply the laws of this country to a defendant over which the court has jurisdiction because the laws of the defendant's own country are more lenient.

Plaintiffs believe that no person or corporation who chooses to conduct business in the United States should be allowed to provide material support to a Specially Designated Global Terrorist responsible for murdering and maiming American citizens.

Counter Terrorism Practice

Weiss v National Westminster Bank

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