Georgian billionaire earns $926 million from Credit Suisse after fraud

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) was ordered to pay the former Georgia prime minister $926 million on Friday for the loss of part of his fortune, in a Singapore court ruling that marks one of the largest court rulings against him. the bank.

Singapore’s International Commercial Court said a unit of Credit Suisse did not act in good faith and neglected to keep Bidzina Ivanishvili’s assets safe, in the latest blow to the ailing bank, which is being acquired by UBS (UBSG.S).

Credit Suisse immediately said it would appeal the decision.

The court heard that the billionaire businessman Ivanishvili, who was Georgia’s prime minister from 2012 to 2013, placed $1.1 billion in the custody of the Credit Suisse Trust in 2005.

Lawyers Ivanishvili Cavender Paul and Wu Shuyan of the law firm Drew & Napier said Credit Suisse’s failures had led to fraudulent mismanagement and huge losses.

In its ruling on Friday, the court said the bank had failed to protect Ivanishvili’s assets by denying Patrice Lissoudron, an advisor at Credit Suisse Trust in Singapore, access to them.

Lescaudron was found guilty by a Swiss court in 2018 of forging signatures of former clients, including Ivanishvili, over a period of eight years. He admitted to rigging deals and hiding losses in a scheme that made him tens of millions of Swiss francs. He was released in 2019 and killed himself in 2020.

“It is unacceptable that the defendant’s conduct was reasonable,” Judge Patricia Bergin said in a written judgment.

“I have preferred Mr. Lescaudron’s importance to retaining a large client, the plaintiff, with Credit Suisse over complying with its core obligation to keep the Trust’s assets safe.”

Bergin said Credit Suisse knew Lescaudron had broken regulations designed to prevent fraud and had waited up to two years for a response from him when questioned.

“His tolerance of these flagrant abuses was not in good faith and was unreasonable,” Bergin added.

gravity

The $926m that Credit Suisse will pay will be reduced by the $79m it had already paid in December.

“The judgment published today is wrong and raises very important legal issues,” Credit Suisse said in a statement. “Credit Suisse Trust Limited intends to vigorously pursue the appeal,” it added.

The bank is also appealing another ruling relating to its management of Ivanishvili’s assets.

A Bermuda court ruled in March 2022 that Ivanishvili and his family were owed approximately $600 million in damages from Credit Suisse’s local life insurance arm.

The court said the final amount owed by Credit Suisse should be further reduced to prevent overlap with the Bermuda case and prevent the so-called double recovery. Credit Suisse is currently appealing the Bermuda decision.

A person familiar with the matter said the overlap was estimated at $300 million and that Credit Suisse had already made provisions for part of the total compensation.

In the Singapore case, the bank will appeal on the grounds that the compensation relates to money lost due to poor investment decisions and not mere fraud.

A spokesman for Ivanishvili welcomed Singapore’s decision.

“Despite a judgment in Bermuda last year and an admission of breach of duty during the Singapore trial, Credit Suisse has continued to thwart our clients’ efforts to seek compensation for offenses committed by its employees,” the spokesperson said.

“We expect Credit Suisse to fully comply with the ruling and finally take responsibility for its failures.”

Edited by Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.