Canadian Victims of Hizbollah Missile Attacks File Historic Civil Action Against Lebanese Canadian Bank
MONTREAL, July 7 /CNW/ -- Canadian victims of Hizbollah terror attacks have filed an unprecedented civil action in the Quebec Superior Court (docket number 500-17-043962-086) against the Lebanese-Canadian Bank (LCB) in Montreal. The plaintiffs, all of whom were injured in Northern Israel in Katyusha rocket attacks, allege that LCB unlawfully provided financial services to the Hizbollah terrorist organization by allowing charity groups affiliated with Hizbollah to transfer funds prior to and during the attacks on Israeli cities in 2006.
The law suit contends that since 2004, LCB permitted the Yousser Company for Finance and Investment and the Martyrs Foundation, two Lebanese terrorist groups, to open and maintain accounts and to freely transfer many millions of dollars of Hizbollah funds and to carry out millions of dollars in financial transactions, within and without Lebanon, by means of wire transfers, letters of credit, checks and credit cards provided by LCB. LCB, it is charged, facilitated Hizbollah's terrorist activities and is liable to the plaintiffs for the harm that has been inflicted upon them and their families in the rockets attacks.
This is the first civil action brought by Canadian victims of Hizbollah's rocket attacks in a Canadian court.
The plaintiffs are Sara Yefet, Shoshana Sapir and Rochelle and Oz Shalmani.
The families are represented by attorney Jeffrey Boro of Montreal, Professor Ed Morgan of the University of Toronto's International Law and Counter-Terrorism Project and attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Israel.
Hizbollah used the financial services which it was provided by LCB in order to build its terrorist infrastructure, to train, pay and equip its terrorist operatives, and to carry out terrorist attacks. LCB's management and employees had full knowledge that Yousser and Martyrs are part of Hizbollah's financial arm and that the financial services were being provided to Hizbollah, a violent terrorist organization.
Both Yousser and Martyrs have been designated by the U.S. Treasury as terrorist organizations. The fact that the two groups are part of Hizbollah's financial arm is notorious public knowledge in Lebanon.
According to attorney Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center: "LCB knew that both charities are part of Hizbollah's financial arm and that by providing them banking services they were really assisting the Iranian backed terrorists in Lebanon perpetuate their rocket attacks against civilians. This law suit is only the beginning of the uncovering of Hizbollah's extensive financial network in Canada."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Telephone: In USA: 1 917 519 9340.
Telephone: In Israel: 052 383 7020
Email: media@israellawcenter.org
For further information: Israel Law Center, +1-917-519-9340,
media@israellawcenter.org Web Site: http://www.israellawcenter.org/
