A U.S. grand jury is probing whether Deutsche Boerse AG’s Clearstream Banking SA unit took any steps to benefit Iran and its central bank, according to a court filing in a case that stems from the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
The grand jury subpoena issued in New York seeks documents related to any property held or any services rendered by Clearstream for the benefit of Iran or its central bank, Bank Markazi. The grand jury is looking at possible violations of money laundering and Iran sanctions laws, according to the subpoena.
A spokesman for Luxembourg-based Clearstream said the bank was aware of the subpoena but had no further information on the investigation.
The filing on Monday came as part of a lawsuit brought by family members of the victims of the Beirut bombing, who won a $2.7 billion judgment against Iran in 2007. The families have accused Iran of providing material support to Hezbollah, which carried out the attack, killing 241 U.S. servicemen.
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 after the U.S. Treasury Department uncovered $1.8 billion in Iranian funds held at Citibank in New York, part of Citigroup Inc.
The complaint named Iran and a number of banks, including Citi, Bank Markazi, Clearstream and Rome-based Banca UBAE, as defendants and sought to have the funds turned over to help satisfy the judgment. The other banks were alleged to have helped Iran hide its control of the accounts and transfer money out of the bank after it was ordered frozen.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-grand-jury-probing-deutsche-borse-units-ties-195256331–sector.html
