The US Supreme Court denies Sberbank's request to open an appeal in the MH17 case

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Russian Sberbank in the opening of cassation proceedings in the case of the downing of flight MH17. About this reported head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak.

"This sets an extremely important legal precedent: Russian commercial entities can be held liable in US courts for damage caused by Russia and terrorist organizations it controls," Yermak said.

The lawsuit was filed by the family of 18-year-old American Quinn Shansman, who died as a result of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Donetsk region in 2014.

The plane was shot down by a Russian Buk-M1 self-propelled missile launcher No. 332 from the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District of the Russian Land Forces.

The plaintiffs allege that Sberbank financed the separatist group responsible for the downing of the plane through the US banking system.

Earlier, the first instance and appellate courts rejected Sberbank's arguments on "sovereign immunity". The Supreme Court upheld these decisions, paving the way for the case to be heard on the merits.

"If the lawsuit is upheld, it will send a powerful signal to all structures that directly or indirectly finance Russian aggression: there will be no more avoiding responsibility," emphasized Yermak.

• In May, it became known that the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the UN decided that Russia is responsible for the downing of Malaysian airliner flight MH17 in the sky over the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014.