Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili sued Credit Suisse for 200 million Swiss francs ($220 million) in Geneva over a rogue trader scandal, in a suit that goes beyond the $1.34 billion he’s already been awarded by courts in Bermuda and Singapore.
The money the ex-prime minister of Georgia is seeking is part of Swiss civil claims tied to former Credit Suisse banker Patrice Lescaudron’s fraud conviction in 2018. He was found to have run a scheme where he took money from Ivanishvili’s accounts to try and mask growing losses in other client portfolios.
The figure of 200 million francs appeared in an April ruling from a Geneva appeals court over legal costs, and was first reported by blog Gotham City. The Geneva claim was originally filed in January 2023 after mediation talks failed, the court said.
The money Ivanishvili is seeking, is in addition to damages won in Bermuda and Singapore, a spokesman for the tycoon said.
A UBS spokesperson declined to comment.
The Bermuda judge who ruled against Credit Suisse in 2022 said the unit in that island nation had turned a “blind eye” to the rogue banker, awarding Ivanishvili more than $600 million. Last year he won a further $742 million from a Singapore court. Credit Suisse, now owned by UBS Group AG, is appealing both those decisions.
Lawyers for Ivanishvili argued that the banker’s supervisors were aware or should have known of Lescaudron’s subterfuge, and if they didn’t should be held criminally negligent. The bank has always consistently countered that the Frenchman was a “lone wolf” who hid his crimes from colleagues.
Source: BLOOMBERG
