Public Notice:
To the Taliban and Da Afghanistan Bank
In the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”), Cases Nos. 22-965, and 22-975, Plaintiffs-Appellants the Wodenshek family, who hold liability judgments against the Taliban for claims relating to Christopher Wodenshek’s death in the 9/11 attacks, are appealing the dismissal of their class action complaint (the “Class Action”) in In re Approximately $3.5 Billion of Assets on Deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the Name of Da Afghanistan Bank, 22-cv-3228, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”). The Class Action was filed on April 20, 2022, in response to turnover and attachment proceedings in two SDNY actions—In re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 03-md-1570 (the “9/11 MDL”), and Owens v. The Taliban, 22-cv-1949—concerning $3.5 billion in assets of Da Afghanistan Bank (“DAB”) held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRBNY”). The amounts sought in these turnover and attachment proceedings are in excess of the approximately $3.5 billion in DAB assets, which are the only known Taliban assets in the United States available to satisfy compensatory judgments against the Taliban for acts of terrorism. Any dissipation of the approximately $3.5 billion pursuant to these turnover and attachment proceedings would irreparably prejudice the rights of the Wodensheks and other parties with claims and/or judgments against the Taliban. The Class Action seeks certification of a class pursuant to Rule 23(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the imposition of a constructive trust over the entirety of the DAB assets at FRBNY, and an equitable distribution of those funds among class members.