Goldman Sachs informed its Paris-based employees that they were permitted to work remotely on Thursday following a thwarted bomb attack on Bank of America’s Paris offices the previous Saturday, a source familiar with the matter said. Citigroup likewise shifted staff in both Paris and Frankfurt to remote work as a precaution, the bank said in an emailed statement.
French authorities have taken four individuals into pre-trial detention over the plot, which investigators say may have potential links to Iran. The Paris police authority did not immediately answer a request for comment, and the Paris prosecutor's office declined to comment.
Late on Wednesday, French anti-terrorism prosecutors announced that the four suspects - described as three teenagers aged 16 and 17 and one adult - were placed under formal investigation on suspicion of manufacturing, transporting and handling an explosive device and attempting to destroy property as part of a terrorist organisation.
The device recovered by investigators consisted of a five-litre petrol can affixed to a large pyrotechnic charge that contained a 650-gram active-material cylinder. Prosecutors said the device was the most powerful of its kind ever identified in France and could have generated "a powerful fireball several meters in diameter."
Investigators say the adult suspect recruited the teenagers and paid them between 500 and 1,000 euros to plant and film the device. All four defendants have denied any terrorist intent, according to the prosecutor's office.
Authorities are also examining a possible connection to HAYI, a pro-Iranian group that had posted a video on March 23 which specifically named Bank of America’s Paris headquarters. Prosecutors cautioned that the link to HAYI has not yet been formally established.
Context on corporate responses
The decisions by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to have employees work remotely underline the immediate operational response of major financial firms when faced with localized security threats. Citigroup described its choice to move staff offsite as a precautionary measure in the emailed communication.
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