HEIRS OF SEIZED CUBAN BANK SUE SOCIETE GENERALE FOR A BILLION DOLLARS PLUS TREBLE DAMAGES

The Cuban-American heirs of Banco Nuñez, which was expropriated by the Castro regime, and illegally absorbed into Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC), the government-owned bank, have brought a billion dollar civil suit against Société Générale SA, (SocGen) the French multinational investment bank. At the time of its seizure, Banco Nuñez was the second-largest bank in Cuba.

The Helms-Burton Act allows aggrieved parties to file claims for confiscated property; the plaintiffs allege that SocGen extension of its credit facilities to BNC constitutes trafficking in stolen property. SocGen "went to great lengths to conceal its trafficking," concealing any references to Cuba in its correspondence relating to international transactions. The deceptive actions employed appear to be the same as the tactics used by other banks to conceal transactions with Iran. Therefore, the plaintiffs assert,  SocGen is trafficking in plaintiffs' expropriated property, and should be compensated. Remember that US regulators fined SocGen $1.4 to resolve sanctions violations.

Based upon a formula applied to SocGen profits attributed to Cuban transactions through BNC, and extensions of credit, the Banco Nuñez heirs calculated the sum of $1.34bn, plus treble damages and attorneys' fees.

Readers who wish to review the 18-page Complaint filed in US District Court in Miami, Case No.: 19-cv-22842-DPG (SD FL), may access the complete text here.