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The Sacklers, Jewish family behind OxyContin, will pay $6B in deal that shields them from lawsuits
(JTA) – The Sackler family, the Jewish billionaires whose marketing of the painkiller drug OxyContin fueled the United States’ ongoing opioid epidemic, will receive full immunity from all civil legal claims in exchange for spending up to $6 billion on addiction treatment and prevention programs.
The decision to grant immunity by a federal appeals court panel Tuesday effectively ends the thousands of civil lawsuits that have been filed against Purdue Pharma, the Sacklers’ company, over opioid deaths.
But it clears the way for the company to declare bankruptcy, a move considered essential to a plan to pay out billions of dollars to help states and communities address the opioid crisis. Of the up to $6 billion allocated under the deal, about $750 million, will go to people who became addicted to OxyContin and to family members of people who died from overdoses.
The ruling reverses a lower court’s 2021 ruling that bankruptcy proceedings were an improper tool for shielding wealthy private citizens from legal repercussions. It does not grant members of the Sackler family immunity against possible future criminal charges.
Purdue founders Arthur, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler were the sons of Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn who attended medical school in Scotland because American schools wouldn’t admit Jews at the time. Mortimer and Raymond introduced OxyContin in 1996, after Arthur had left the company; the family then made billions by aggressively marketing the drug for more than two decades, even amid signs it was driving users into opiate addiction.
The three brothers have all died, but other members of the family have retained control of Purdue Pharma and their wealth, estimated at about $11 billion two years ago.
The Sackler name had been a regular presence in philanthropic circles until the opioid lawsuits began building up in 2019, at which point many cultural institutions began refusing the family’s donations and removing their name from buildings. The Jewish artist and activist Nan Goldin spearheaded a grassroots movement opposing the family for years.
One notable beneficiary of the Sacklers, Tel Aviv University, has resisted pressure to drop the Sackler name from its medical school — though the American-facing wing of its medical school quietly removed the Sackler name from its marketing materials last year.
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UK Police Charge Two Men in Connection with Filming Antisemitic TikTok Videos
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s US head office in Culver City, California, US, Sep. 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS
British police have charged two men with religiously aggravated harassment offenses after they were alleged to have traveled to a Jewish area of north London to film antisemitic social media videos.
The two men, Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, are due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said on Saturday.
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US Imposes Sanctions on Companies It Accuses of Aiding Iran’s Weapons Sector
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, over accusations they aided Iran’s efforts to secure weapons and the raw materials needed to build its Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.
The Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.
In a statement, Treasury said it remained ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its production capacity.
Treasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Treasury’s actions were aimed at cracking down on Iran’s ability to threaten ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz and regional allies.
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, after the US and Israel attacked a large number of targets in Iran on February 28. Shipping through the crucial waterway has ground to a near halt since the war began, sending energy prices sharply higher.
Iran is a major drone manufacturer and has the industrial capacity to produce around 10,000 a month, according to the British government-fund Center for Information Resilience.
Erickson said the sanctions were still narrowly focused, giving Iran more time to adapt and reroute procurement to other suppliers. Treasury was also not yet going after Chinese banks that were keeping Iran’s economy going, he added.
The companies facing sanctions include:
• China-based Yushita Shanghai International Trade Co Ltd for facilitating acquisition efforts for Iran to purchase weapons from China.
• Dubai-based Elite Energy FZCO for transferring millions of dollars to a Hong Kong company to aid the procurement effort.
• Hong Kong-based HK Hesin Industry Co Ltd and Belarus-based Armory Alliance LLC for working as intermediaries in the procurements.
• Hong Kong-based Mustad Ltd for facilitating weapon procurement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• Iran-based Pishgam Electronic Safeh Co for procuring motors used in drones.
• China-based Hitex Insulation Ningbo Co Ltd for supplying materials used in ballistic missiles.
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Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released From Israel Detention and Deported
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were traveling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations.
BRAZIL AND SPAIN SAID THE DETENTION WAS UNLAWFUL
The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek’s and Avila’s detention was unlawful, but Israel’s Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until May 10.
Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities’ custody until their deportation.
“Adalah is closely monitoring developments to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days,” the group said. Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment.
Israeli authorities held them under suspicion of offenses that included aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group.
Gaza is largely run by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.