9/11 kin look to seize Iran assets in Britain

LONDON: An English court has cleared the way to consider whether it will allow the families of some of those killed in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to make a claim on Iranian assets in Britain.

They want the English High Court to enforce a 2012 decision by a US court, which found there was evidence to show that Iran had provided “material support and resources to al-Qaeda for acts of terrorism”.

The New York court awarded the plaintiffs damages of over US$7bil (RM28.3bil).

If the English court agrees to enforce the ruling, it could clear the way for assets in England and Wales to be frozen or seized.

Iranian assets in England include a central London building and funds held by two subsidiaries of state-owned banks.

The June 8 ruling after a hearing in the English High Court removed an obstacle holding up the process.

The law requires the UK’s Foreign Office (FCO) to formally serve the legal papers to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) before enforcement proceedings can begin.

A British official said it was routinely difficult to deliver papers to the MFA, according to FCO correspondence seen by Reuters.

The judge ruled that it was sufficient to try to notify them through other means such as e-mail or post.

The plaintiffs will now ask the High Court in the next few months to consider whether the New York ruling can be entered as a judgment in English law, said their lawyer Natasha Harrison.