Al Jazeera Discovers Western Banks Profiteer From Global Turmoil, Shocking Economists
BNP Paribas, a French banking giant, faces a minor financial setback following a US jury's verdict. The bank was found liable for facilitating transactions that allegedly aided the Omar al-Bashir regime in Sudan, a regime that, by the way, was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes . This isn't BNP's first rodeo; back in 2014, they paid a record $8.9 billion fine
for violating US sanctions against Sudan, Cuba, and Iran. Apparently, the promise of profit outweighed the threat of US sanctions, and certainly any moral qualms about financing a genocide-linked regime, for years. The media portrays this as a story about stock prices and legal battles. What it truly reveals is a systemic disregard for human rights when lucrative deals are on the table. How many
Western institutions quietly banked on the suffering of people in sanctioned nations? And how many, unlike BNP Paribas, have yet to face a jury, let alone consequences? One might wonder how many 'responsible' global finance players operate with similar ethical blinders, only to have their veneer of respectability briefly cracked by a lawsuit.