US Supreme Court won't review Russian bank's appeal over MH17 downing
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Oct. 6 to review an appeal by Sberbank over a lawsuit saying the Russian bank did business with Russian proxy forces responsible for the downing of a Malaysia Airlines airliner in Ukraine in 2014.
The move enables the family of Quinn Schansman, an 18-year-old American passenger killed in the MH17 crash, to sue the Russian bank under the U.S. anti-terrorism law.
The plane was shot down on July 17, 2014, over territory held by Russian proxy forces in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
A U.N. aviation agency and Kyiv said that Moscow was responsible, while Russia denied involvement.
Schansman's family has sought damages from Sberbank, arguing that the largest Russian bank has funneled money to Russian proxy forces in Donetsk Oblast.
After the Russian Finance Ministry acquired the majority share of Sberbank, the state-controlled lender argued that it is immune from the lawsuit under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
A district court in New York ruled in February that foreign sovereign immunity grounds do not apply in a case involving the use of the U.S. banking system to channel funds to Russian proxy forces.
Sberbank has since sought to overturn the New York court's ruling.
Ukraine has welcomed the Supreme Court's decision, noting it sets an "exceptionally important legal precedent."
"Russian commercial entities can be held accountable in U.S. courts for damages caused by Russia and the terrorist organizations it controls," said top presidential aide Andriy Yermak.
"If the lawsuit is upheld, it will send a powerful signal to all entities that directly or indirectly fund Russian aggression: accountability can no longer be avoided."
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded in May that Russia was responsible for the crash, while the district court in The Hague has convicted in absentia two Russian nationals and one Ukrainian national of downing the airliner.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
