SPARACINO PLLC: U.S. FEDERAL COURT ISSUES HISTORIC RULING PERMITTING ANTI-TERRORISM CLAIMS AGAINST BNP PARIBAS TO MOVE TO DISCOVERY

Lawsuit alleges that BNP Paribas did business with Iranian terrorist front companies that financed deadly terrorist attacks in Israel and Iraq

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, hundreds of American victims of Iran-backed terrorism, including Gold Star family members, servicemembers, and their families, obtained an important ruling in a high-profile Anti-Terrorism Act case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against BNP Paribas, S.A., a European bank with branches throughout the Middle East. The court ruled that the plaintiffs stated a claim against BNP Paribas and allowed the lawsuit to proceed. 

The plaintiffs or their family members were injured in terrorist attacks that took place in Iraq and Israel. They allege that BNP Paribas did business with Iranian oil and gas companies that served as fronts for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the "IRGC"), the world's most prolific sponsor of terrorism. The plaintiffs allege that BNP Paribas facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions for Iranian customers in violation of U.S. sanctions while engaging in extraordinary efforts to help them evade U.S. counterterrorism controls. That misconduct was the basis for a criminal guilty plea by BNP Paribas for what government officials called "unprecedented," "extreme," and "years-long" "criminal support of . . . entities engaged in acts of terrorism." Indeed, BNP Paribas's guilty plea was the largest in U.S. history. The plaintiffs allege that the IRGC constructed a "terrorism machine" that systematically converted revenue from IRGC fronts in the oil and gas industry into funds used by the IRGC and its proxies to commit terrorist attacks. The plaintiffs allege that BNP Paribas's transactions for Iranian oil and gas companies fueled the IRGC's terrorism machine in the face of direct warnings and troves of publicly available information that such companies were funding terrorism.

According to Ryan Sparacino, Founding Partner of Sparacino PLLC, "Yesterday's ruling was historic because the Court found that plaintiffs stated an Anti-Terrorism Act claim against BNP Paribas based upon its transactions for IRGC fronts in Iran's oil and gas industry. For many years, the U.S. government has been warning that Iran's oil and gas industry funds IRGC terrorism. Those who defy such warnings must answer to the American victims of terrorism they harm. This is the first time a claim under the Anti-Terrorism Act has been allowed to proceed against a European bank for doing business in Iran. Yesterday's opinion thus marks a significant milestone in the ability of American victims of terrorism to hold the IRGC and its financial facilitators accountable, wherever they may reside. Our investigation continues, so we urge anyone with relevant information to consider contacting us."

Sparacino PLLC conducted an exhaustive investigation before filing this case, and the court's Opinion is another step forward in holding BNP Paribas accountable and bringing justice to the plaintiffs.

The case is captioned Moses, et al. v. BNP Paribas, S.A., No. 1:24-cv-4938 (S.D.N.Y.), and the court's opinion can be found on the court docket (No. 40) or online at https://terrorismcase.com/moses-opinion. The Amended Complaint is available at: https://terrorismcase.com/moses-amended.

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SOURCE Sparacino PLLC