Prosecutors in Belgium want US lender Citibank to pay back 128 million euros (US$192 million) to Belgian customers who say they were duped into buying high-risk financial products from failed investment bank Lehman Brothers, media reports said on Saturday.
‘FALSE’
Two leading business newspapers, L’Echo and De Tijd, reported that the public prosecutor would argue Citibank’s Belgian operations enticed clients with “false advertising” and “tricks” to convince them to swap their savings for high-risk products from the fallen Wall Street Bank.
The reports said the case would open on Dec. 1 when prosecution would call on Citibank to reimburse the 4,000 clients affected with a total of 128 million euros plus interest.
Calls to the public prosecutor’s office seeking comment were not immediately returned.
COLLAPSE
Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept. 15, last year, sending a jolt through financial markets and triggering instability in other banks worldwide.
The case in Brussels’ civil tribunal was brought following by a complaint from an investors rights association, Deminor.
AGRIEVED
The aggrieved customers argue that they received false or inaccurate information about the financial products they were sold.
Some 18,000 Belgian savers were hit by Lehman Brothers’s collapse, losing close to 325 million euros.
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