(3 Minutes Read)
BNP Paribas gave Sudanese authorities access to international money markets in the 1990s and 2000s. Plaintiffs said these contracts helped the Sudanese government commit atrocities against its population.
Shares in France’s biggest bank BNP Paribas dropped by 10% on Monday after a United States court verdict last week found it helped Sudan’s government commit genocide. The bank has to pay close to US$21 million to three plaintiffs, who fled Sudan and are now US citizens as ordered by a New York Federal Jury, which testified about human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime of fprmer Sudanese president Omar al -Bashir.
BNP Paribas gave Sudanese authorities access to international money markets in the 1990s and 2000s. Plaintiffs said these contracts helped the Sudanese government commit atrocities against its population.
In a statement on Monday, the bank said it would appeal the verdict and argued the decision should not lead to more compensation demands.
BNP Paribas reaffirmed that this order is clearly wrong and ignored important evidence the bank was not permitted to introduce. It also said that all available avenues would be tapped to contest this judgment.
Read Also:
But analysts said uncertainty over potential further claims or penalties weighed on BNP Paribas shares on Monday, and would likely continue to do so. The lawyers for the three plaintiffs said the verdict opens the door for more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees in the US to seek billions of dollars in damages from the French bank.
