All domestic and overseas branches of the Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) always strictly conform to the law when conducting commercial operations, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remark at a regular press conference in reply to a question concerning a lawsuit filed by about 100 Israelis against the lender.

Some overseas media reports said more than 100 victims of terrorism in Israel filed suit in a Los Angeles Superior Court late last month against the BOC, claiming the institution transferred money to terrorist groups without examination through its U.S. branches.

Jiang said, as a listed company, the bank always abided by the laws of China and the countries where its overseas branches operated. BOC had devised corresponding measures to avoid violating the relevant laws.

The bank had not been under any investigation carried out by Chinese or U.S. anti-money laundering authorities so far, she said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2008)