Bank of China rejects terror accusations

BEIJING - The Bank of China (BOC) on Thursday rejected accusations by Israeli families who are reportedly suing the bank for providing banking services for terrorist groups.

The US-based Dow Jones Newswire reported Tuesday that families of eight high school students shot dead in Israel in 2008 filed a $1-billion lawsuit against the BOC, alleging it "intentionally and recklessly" provided banking services to terrorist groups through its New York branch.

The BOC has seen media reports about the lawsuit and said the accusations were "entirely groundless," adding that it had not been served with any litigation documents, a BOC official said on condition of anonymity.

"The BOC strictly bans any kind of financial services for any terrorist groups in line with UN regulations against money-laundering and terrorist financing as well as laws in China and other jurisdictions where the company operates," the official said.