BNP Paribas Urges Judge to Throw Out $21 Million Sudan Verdict

(Bloomberg) — BNP Paribas SA asked a judge to issue a $20.75 million judgment against the bank in favor of three former Sudanese refugees who claim the bank is responsible for financing the regime responsible for widespread human rights abuses.

BNP argued that Swiss law, which is the legal basis for the lawsuit against the bank, does not allow the allegations and that they were unable to prove their case during the five-week trial that ended last month in Manhattan federal court. The bank said the amount of compensation awarded in the case was excessive.

“These damages far exceed amounts that Swiss courts have ever awarded for similar injuries,” BNP said in a lawsuit filed with the court late Friday.

BNP asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who presided over the hearing, to reject the decision and order the defense on the allegations, or at least hold a new trial. That request is a long shot, as the judge rejected most of the allegations before the hearing. The BNP said it would object.

“Plaintiffs believe BNP’s motions are meritless and are confident they will prevail, as they have repeatedly over the past decade,” David Hecht, an attorney for thousands of U.S. residents who say they were persecuted by the Sudanese dictatorship between 1997 and 2011, said in an email Saturday.

Sudanese refugees filed a lawsuit in 2016, alleging that the BNP helped the regime bank oil revenues in violation of US sanctions, maintain the power of the ruling regime in the country and finance a repression campaign. BNP said it provided normal, basic financial services in Sudan and victims were unable to connect those services to the injuries they suffered.

Shares in BNP Paribas tumbled as much as 10.6% following the trial, which saw the plaintiffs’ claims tested for the first time in front of a jury, amid concerns about potential billions of dollars in liability.

The case is Kashef v. BNP Paribas, 16-cv-03228, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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