A U.S. appeals court has ruled that the family of an American killed in the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 can sue Russia’s Sberbank for allegedly funding the separatist group blamed for the attack.
A 3-0 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan determined that Sberbank, Russia’s largest state-controlled bank, cannot claim sovereign immunity in the case. The ruling allows the family of Quinn Schansman, an American citizen who died in the tragedy, to proceed with their lawsuit against the bank.
The lawsuit alleges that Sberbank facilitated money transfers through the U.S. financial system to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the Russian-backed separatist group accused of firing the surface-to-air missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.
The court rejected Sberbank’s argument that it is shielded under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Judge Joseph Bianco ruled that Sberbank’s financial transactions constituted commercial activity, making them subject to U.S. litigation.
The Schansman family’s legal team welcomed the ruling, calling it a rejection of Russia’s attempt to shield Sberbank through strategic acquisitions.
Sberbank has yet to issue an official response.
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