Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon has filed legal proceedings against the Central Bank over its role in facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds on the European market.
McGarr Solicitors lodged papers with the High Court on behalf of the Dublin Central TD on Thursday.
Mr Gannon is seeking a court order requiring the Central Bank to exercise its powers under European regulations to prohibit the marketing, distribution or sale of bonds issued by the state of Israel.
Court papers show he is also seeking an order requiring the bank to “properly consult” with the “competent authorities in other member states that may be significantly affected by the action”.
RM Block
In a draft affidavit to the court Mr Gannon said he believes and is advised that the investors in, and holders, purchasers and sellers of Israeli bonds risk being “complicit in genocide, with various implications for them”.
There have been ongoing calls for the Central Bank to end its role in approving Israeli bonds for sale in the European Union. The bank is the designated authority in relation to the sale of Israeli bonds in the EU.
The Central Bank’s governor, Gabriel Makhlouf, told the Oireachtas Finance Committee last month that Israel has raised between €100 million and €130 million from the bonds.
He said the Israeli government website marketing its “war bonds” had stated it had sold bonds worth €5 billion. He said the EU accounted for only a fraction of that, with the US accounting for the bulk of it.
On what the bank can and can’t do, he said: “The Central Bank cannot decide to impose sanctions for breaches or alleged breaches of international law. It is for international bodies such as the UN or the EU to determine how to respond to breaches or alleged breaches of international law.”
Mr Gannon issued letters to the bank about investor protection concerns relating to the bonds, as well as the use of the bonds to finance the war in Gaza at the end of last month.
In response, the Central Bank, through its solicitors, said in a letter that there is “no valid legal basis” to support Mr Gannon’s purported judicial review proceedings.
It claimed that Mr Gannon lacked the “necessary locus standi” or right to bring the proceedings, and said the bank was satisfied it did not meet the relevant criteria to exercise its powers under EU law.
The letter also stated that judicial review proceedings would lead to court time being “expended unnecessarily and substantial costs being incurred”.
[ Central Bank’s role in approving Israeli bonds can be traced back to BrexitOpens in new window ]
Commenting on the action, Mr Gannon said: “These bonds are not neutral financial instruments. They are a funding pipeline for a military campaign that includes the bombardment and starvation of thousands of civilians.
“While this is a technical case grounded in EU investor protection law, the issues at stake are deeply moral and ask whether our laws, Irish, European, and international, have the capacity to respond to that reality.”
He added: “If financing a regime accused of genocide doesn’t meet that threshold, what does?”
