Brothers sue ING for billions in Cuba sanction violations

Cuban-American brothers Alfredo and Gustavo Villodo filed a lawsuit in the United States worth between 1.7 and five billion dollars against ING for not complying with the economic sanctions against Cuba, reports NOS.

The Villodo brothers claim they suffered a severe financial and personal loss due to ING's choice to not respect the sanctions. Had ING frozen the assets of Cuba, American authorities could have accessed the money from those bank accounts. The brothers then could claim a portion because their family estate was nationalized by the communist regime, and their father eventually took his own life in despair.

ING was previously fined by US authorities for not complying with sanctions against Cuba. A spokesman for the bank said that the claim had yet to be assessed by the court. The bank also posed the question of compensation to its shareholders.

The Villodo family is prepared to file claims against more banks.