SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Darfur Victims Allege BNP Paribas Helped Prop Up Sudan’s Regime

27/9/19: Multiple sources - Darfur Victims Allege BNP Paribas Helped Prop Up Sudan’s Regime

• Wall Street Journal, by Noemie Bisserbe

• Reuters

• AP

• AFP

 Human-rights groups representing survivors of the Darfur genocide filed a criminal complaint against BNP Paribas, alleging the French bank provided financial services to Sudan that propped up its regime between 2002 and 2008.

 “BNP allowed the government to function, pay its staff, military and security forces, make purchases abroad, all while Sudan was a pariah on the international scene for planning and committing crimes in Darfur,” said Patrick Baudouin, a lawyer for the International Federation of Human Rights.

 In 2015, BNP Paribas pled guilty to violating sanctions against Sudan, using regional banks to process over $20 billion in financial transactions linked to companies and government agencies in Sudan. Although prosecutors said BNP essentially acted as the “Central Bank of Sudan in dollar transactions” Sudanese victims are yet to receive any damages.