The richest man in Georgia, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, accuses the largest Swiss bank Credit Suisse of losses in the amount of 1.27 billion dollars. Ivanishvili appealed to the Singapore International Commercial Court.
Reuters reports that hearings in the Singapore court will resume on September 6.
Ivanishvili believes that Credit Suisse Trust Ltd did not protect its investments and did not take appropriate steps to prevent losses.
In their statement, Ivanishvili's lawyers mention that in 2005 he invested $1.1 billion in the Credit Suisse trust.
According to the bank, this loss is related to the fraud of the company's former banker Patrick Lescadron. At the same time, the representatives of the bank's trust department claim that the amount of damages requested by the plaintiffs is excessive, and they ask the court to reject the lawsuit.
According to his lawyers, the bank's representative office estimated his losses at 818.2 million dollars.
According to Reuters, Ivanishvili said in court: "I thought I had come to the experts who would protect my capital and my family."
Lawyers note that the legal process in Singapore began against the background of attempts by the new CEO of Credit Suisse to stabilize the bank's position after a series of scandals. Ulrich Koerner has been tasked with cutting more than a billion dollars in costs to help Switzerland's largest bank recover from bankruptcies and losses.
The Reuters agency also writes that the banker Patrick Lescadron, who dealt with Ivanishvili's business, began fraudulently managing trust investments and misappropriating trust funds back in 2007.
"In 2018, a Swiss court found Lescadron guilty of forging the signatures of former clients, including Ivanishvili, for eight years. He admitted to falsifying transactions and concealing losses. Lescadron later took his own life, according to court documents. The Swiss bank is trying to recoup the billion-dollar losses received in 2021. After what happened to him as a result of unsuccessful investments and numerous court cases, including a court case in Bermuda, which also concerns Ivanishvili and which could cost the bank 600 million," writes Reuters.