The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has settled a 17-year forfeiture litigation that will result in the payment of approximately $318 million to hundreds of victims of Iranian state-sponsored terrorism.
The forfeiture action exposed an Iranian government-owned bank’s secret interest in a 36-story commercial and office tower located in the heart of Manhattan. Hundreds of victims filed claims and initiated separate litigation to enforce judgments obtained against the government of Iran. All remaining parties have entered into a global settlement that will compensate victims. This includes victims and family members of the 1984 bombings of U.S. military facilities in Beirut, Lebanon, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and Iranian proxy terrorist organizations’ attacks against civilians.
“Iran has sponsored terrorism for decades,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said. “Since the inception of this litigation, the overriding goal of the Department of Justice has been to vindicate the rights of victims of the Government of Iran’s long-standing policy of supporting and promoting terror attacks across the world, including 9/11. This office’s many years of determined litigation show our unrelenting commitment to victims’ rights, and has led to this significant recovery.”
“For nearly two decades, we pursued hidden Iranian government assets tied to a Manhattan skyscraper to ensure those funds would ultimately compensate victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism rather than terrorists and their enablers,” Clayton added.