Ministry says BOC conforms to laws

All domestic and overseas branches of Bank of China always strictly conform to the law when conducting commercial operations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remark in Beijing at a regular press conference in reply to a question concerning a lawsuit filed by about 100 Israelis against the lender.

Some overseas media reports said more than 100 victims of terrorism in Israel filed the suit in a Los Angeles Superior Court late last month against BOC, claiming the institution transferred money to terrorist groups without examination through its US branches. Jiang said as a listed company, the bank always abided by the laws of China and the countries where its overseas branches operated. BOC had devised corresponding measures to avoid violating relevant laws. The bank is not being investigated by Chinese or United States anti-money laundering authorities, she said.