US banks in Paris ramp up security after cops thwart suspected Iran-linked attack

Citigroup orders staff in Paris and Frankfurt to work remotely ‘as a precautionary measure’ after four people detained in connection with explosive placed outside Bank of America

By AFP and ToI Staff 2 April 2026, 4:58 pm

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Police stand outside the Bank of America building in Paris, March 28, 2026. (AP/Nicolas Garriga)

Citigroup has urged staff in Paris and Frankfurt to work from home as US banks step up security, after one of them was the target of a thwarted attack last week, thought to be linked to an Iran-backed terror group.

“The safety of our employees is our number one priority, and we are taking the necessary measures to keep our employees safe,” a Citigroup spokeswoman said Thursday. “Employees in Paris/Frankfurt are working remotely, as a precautionary measure,” she added.

Police have also deployed surveillance outside the Paris offices of US bank Goldman Sachs in the city’s 8th arrondissement, near the Champs-Elysees, a police source said.

The operation is part of heightened police vigilance to protect US interests and Jewish community sites in France over concerns about potential attacks linked to the war in the Middle East.

French authorities have charged four people — a young adult and three minors — and put them in pre-trial detention after an explosive device was placed outside a Bank of America branch in Paris before dawn on Saturday.

France’s National Counterterrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) said the incident could be linked to a little-known terror group with possible links to Iran, though no firm link has yet been established.

Police and security stand outside a Bank of America building following an apparent attempted bombing attack in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, March 28, 2026. (Sebastien DUPUY / AFP)

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya group, or Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, has claimed responsibility for attacks targeting Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Jewish institutions in Europe, Canada and the US have been targeted at least 14 times since the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.