Supreme Court Rejects Sberbank's Appeal in Anti-Terrorism Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear Sberbank's appeal against a lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The case involves Sberbank’s alleged business with a group responsible for the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014, resulting in the death of an American passenger.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an appeal by Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, seeking to avoid a lawsuit filed under a U.S. anti-terrorism law. The lawsuit accuses Sberbank of conducting business with the group responsible for the 2014 downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine.
This decision upholds a lower court's ruling that allows the family of Quinn Schansman, an American victim of the crash, to proceed with their lawsuit against the bank. The case argues that Sberbank funneled money through the U.S. banking system to the Donetsk People's Republic, a separatist group backed by Russia.
Sberbank claims that it should be immune as a foreign state under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, but the court found its activities fall under a commercial activity exception. Lawyers for the Schansman family contest Sberbank's claim, emphasizing the clarity of the legal stance in lower courts.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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