Partner Jeffrey Alberts, head of Pryor Cashman's White Collar Defense & Investigations practice, was quoted in the Law360 article entitled “Arab Bank Verdict Injects Risk Into Compliance Landscape.”

The article discusses the recent New York federal jury’s landmark decision to hold Arab Bank PLC liable for terror attacks. The immediate impact of this decision will be increased internal control efforts by the financial institutions to avoid lawsuits.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers are seeking more than $1 billion in damages. If Arab Bank is forced to pay this amount, the long-term impact will be devastating not just for the business but also for pensioners in the Middle East who own its shares.

“Now banks have to keep in mind that they could be pursued in a civil action by attorneys who aren't part of the government at all — and take that into account in setting up their compliance programs,” Alberts said.

“It's important for the U.S. to have strong financial ties to these areas. It's counterproductive to increase compliance hurdles so high that banks stop routing transactions through the U.S.,” continued Alberts.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.