| Greek Cypriots, et al. v. TRNC and HSBC Bank USA | |
|---|---|
| Court | United States District Court for the District of Columbia[1] |
| Full case name | Greek Cypriots, et al. v. TRNC and HSBC Bank USA |
| Keywords | |
| Greek Cypriot diaspora, TRNC Representative Offices in the United States, HSBC Bank USA, Eleni Foka. | |
Greek Cypriots, et al. v. TRNC and HSBC Bank USA is a pending class action suit by Greek Cypriots and others against the TRNC Representative Offices in the United States and HSBC Bank USA. The TRNC Representative Offices are a commercial entity because the United States does not formally recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The staff of the Representative Offices do not have diplomatic visas and only operate within the United States using business visas. Tsimpedes Law in Washington DC is suing for "the denial of access to and enjoyment of land and property held in the north". The lawsuit, originally initiated by Cypriots displaced during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, has been joined by non-Cypriots who paid for but have never been given legal title to properties that they have purchased.[2]
Contents |
More than 100 people living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Greece have filed to participate in this class action. Foreign nationals and foreign organizations are legally allowed to sue in American courts. The Municipality of Karavas has recently joined the action. Eleni Foka, the primary school teacher who had sued Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights for violating her human rights has also joined this class action.[3]
When the Republic of Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 many thousands of Cypriots were displaced from their homes and their land and have since been prevented from enjoying their use.
Since 1974, homes have been illegally built on land that is still owned by displaced Cypriots and those new homes have been sold to buyers, who may not have known that the land that the homes were built on was still owned by displaced Cypriots.
Also, some foreign buyers who have bought homes and land, in Northern Cyprus, have not been allowed to access properties that they have paid for.
The class action will be brought on behalf of all displaced Cypriots, and others, who are victims of alleged property crimes committed by the commercial entity called the TRNC and HSBC Bank USA's participation in the alleged laundering of funds for that commercial entity. Originally initiated by displaced Cypriots from the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the class action has been joined by Sandra Kocinski, Pat Clarke and Suz Latchford who paid for but have never been given legal title to the villas that they purchased. [2]
The named defendants include the commercial entity called the TRNC and HSBC Bank USA.
A successful outcome is likely since American Courts have already ruled against TRNC's commercial enterprise in the Church of Cyprus v. Goldberg case. This is also complemented by existing judgements including those made by the European Court of Human Rights (including Loizidou v. Turkey) and the Court of Justice of the European Union judgements (including Apostolides v. Orams).
The compensation that the class action is seeking is likely to be greater than US$400 billion.[1][4]