The bank reportedly granted the Sudanese government access to global money markets
BNP Paribas S.A. has been ordered to pay out almost US$21 million after a New York jury determined that the bank had granted the Sudanese government access to global money markets, helping it to carry out atrocities in the region 20 years ago.
The Associated Press reported that a woman and two men, all of whom were US citizens who had been displaced from Sudan, were to receive between US$6.7 million and US$7.3 million each.
The litigation centered on the human rights abuses committed by Sudanese authorities under ex-president Omar al-Bashir. The atrocities resulted in the deaths of up to 300,000 people and the displacement of 2.7 million people in the Darfur region.
The plaintiffs claimed that BNP Paribas assisted in the persecution by giving the Sudanese government access to the US financial system. BNP Paribas claimed that it did not knowingly assist the Sudanese government with its actions and said that authorities also sourced funds from elsewhere.
According to a spokesperson for the bank, BNS Paribas had been prevented from presenting key evidence.
“Human rights abuses in Sudan did not start with BNPP, did not end when BNPP left Sudan, and were not caused by BNPP,” the bank’s lawyers wrote in an August court filing, a snippet of which was published by AP News.
The lawyers said that the bank was not involved in Sudanese military transactions and did not fund the government’s arms dealings; moreover, they said that no specific transaction could be tied to the plaintiffs’ injuries. Thus, BNP Paribas was not liable.
BNP Paribas’ spokesperson added that the verdict could not be applied beyond this case since it was specific to the plaintiffs. The outcome was “clearly wrong and there are very strong grounds to appeal the verdict,” the spokesperson said in an email statement published by AP News.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Adam Levitt, described the case as a “bellwether trial” in a statement published by AP News. He expressed his hope that the result would be applicable to the 23,000 Sudanese US citizens who were part of the class action.
Al-Bashir, who perpetrated the Sudanese atrocities, has been imprisoned in northern Sudan. The International Criminal Court charged him with crimes including genocide.
