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BNP Paribas Found Liable for $20M in Damages to Sudanese Refugees, Facing Billions in Potential Claims
A Manhattan jury has delivered a landmark verdict against BNP Paribas, finding the French banking giant liable for more than $20 million in damages to three Sudanese refugees. The ruling, stemming from allegations that the bank facilitated human rights abuses by banking with Sudan’s former ruling regime, could open the door to far larger claims from thousands of additional victims.
The case centers around the bank’s actions during the late 1990s and 2000s,a period marked by brutal conflict and widespread atrocities under the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir. Lawyers representing the refugees argued that BNP Paribas knowingly enabled the Sudanese government’s campaign of violence by providing access to the U.S. financial system and crucial “petrodollars,” funds generated from oil revenue.
This verdict builds upon BNP Paribas’s 2014 guilty plea to criminal charges related to processing funds from Sudan and other sanctioned countries through the U.S. financial system,for which the bank paid a $9 billion penalty. However, this new ruling marks a rare instance of a global bank facing a jury trial over allegations of directly enabling human rights abuses.
“The bank provided a blank cheque to the regime, which it used to perpetrate a reign of death and destruction on that targeted population,” stated a lawyer for the refugees. “The bank knew of the genocidal use and chose to turn a blind eye of indifference to that human outcome.”
The jury awarded damages of $7.3 million, $6.7 million, and $6.75 million to each of the three plaintiffs respectively. However,legal experts believe this is just the beginning. The verdict is considered a “bellwether verdict,” meaning it sets a precedent for future trials involving allegations of forced displacement, torture, and rape. More than 20,000 Sudanese refugees are part of the certified victim class in the case, potentially leading to a ample increase in financial liabilities for the bank.
“Pressure on BNP to settle the case would rise ‘for amounts much higher than we’ve estimated’,” noted a litigation risk analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “We don’t rule out a settlement in the low billions.”
BNP Paribas vehemently disputes the verdict, asserting that it is “clearly wrong” and based on a misinterpretation of Swiss law. The bank also claims that crucial evidence was improperly excluded during the trial. In a statement, BNP Paribas emphasized that the verdict “should not have broader application beyond this decision” and applies only to the three plaintiffs involved in this specific case.
The trial, which began in New York last month, unfolded nearly a decade after the initial filing of the lawsuit.The case highlights the complex legal challenges of holding financial institutions accountable for their role in facilitating human rights abuses in conflict zones. Sudan endured multiple civil wars during al-Bashir’s rule, resulting in millions of deaths and displacements. al-Bashir himself was indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder, torture, and genocide for his government’s actions against civilians. He was removed from power in a 2019 coup.
