360 DigiTech, Inc. Securities Fraud Investigation
Investigation Deadline: December 1, 2023
September 9, 2026
News
Berger Montague Files Amicus Brief Supporting Darfur Genocide Survivors
Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf of four African human rights organizations in Kashef v. BNP Paribas, S.A., a case brought by Sudanese genocide survivors against the French bank. A federal jury found BNP Paribas liable for aiding and abetting the Sudanese government’s genocide in Darfur, in which an estimated 300,000 people were killed, and the bank has appealed that verdict to the Second Circuit. The brief urges the appeals court to reject BNP Paribas’s argument that no financial institution can ever be held liable for aiding and abetting genocide.
“This is a case about whether corporations can be held accountable under the law when they have aided and abetted crimes such as genocide,” said Shareholder F. Paul Bland. “BNP Paribas is asking this Court to adopt a rule that would mean no financial institution, anywhere, could ever be held responsible for financing atrocities — a position that finds no support in the law of Switzerland, Africa, or anywhere else in the world. We are proud to stand with these courageous human rights organizations in urging the Second Circuit to reject that argument and affirm the jury’s verdict.”
The amici curiae — the Centre of Applied Legal Studies, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, the Pan African Lawyers Union, and the Foundation for Human Rights — bring decades of combined experience advancing human rights and corporate accountability across the African continent. Their brief traces the long history of corporate involvement in human rights abuses in Africa and argues that African and international law firmly support holding corporations liable for aiding and abetting grave human rights violations.
Plaintiffs are represented by Hausfeld LLP, DiCello Levitt, Hecht Partners LLP, and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP.
Additional Information
- Read more about the case Kashef v. BNP Paribas, S.A.
- Brief of Amici Curiae, filed August 28, 2026 (Kashef v. BNP Paribas, S.A., No. 26-341 (2d Cir.)).
- 2026 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. Watch here.
- Learn more about amici curiae: Centre of Applied Legal Studies, IHRDA, PALU, and the Foundation for Human Rights.
Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.
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