Overview
- A Manhattan federal jury awarded $20.75 million to three Sudanese plaintiffs after finding the bank helped sustain Omar al-Bashir’s regime.
- Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the decision could pave the way for roughly 23,000 Sudanese refugees in the U.S. to seek additional damages.
- BNP Paribas plans to appeal, arguing the court misapplied Swiss civil law to Geneva-based transactions and citing a Swiss government letter disputing liability.
- The bank’s shares fell as much as 10% Monday and declined again Tuesday, and management said no Sudan-related litigation provisions will appear in upcoming Q3 results.
- CFO Lars Machenil described further cases as “case by case,” noted the judge indicated individual trials would be required, and said the appeals process could take months.