Credit Suisse sued by Former Georgia’s Premier

Lawyers for former Georgia prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said on Tuesday they are suing Credit Suisse in Singapore, New Zealand and Bermuda, alleging failings at the bank led to fraudulent mismanagement and substantial losses.

Lawyers for Mr Ivanishvili have previously alleged that fraudulent activities by a Credit Suisse client adviser lost the former Georgian leader hundreds of millions of dollars.

Zurich-based Credit Suisse has said the former client adviser violated internal rules and Swiss law, and worked to conceal these actions from the bank.

However, representatives for Mr Ivanishvili argued the adviser was not a lone wolf, saying senior management had knowledge of his activity and that the bank did not take action, but instead continued to charge commission payments on the products sold.

Mr Ivanishvili’s complaints relate to the handling of portfolios between 2005 and 2015, when it is alleged money was stolen and substantial losses resulted from unauthorised investments.

"The full extent of Credit Suisse's wrongdoing has yet to be established," Mr Adam Rooney, Mr Ivanishvili's lawyer, said in a statement. "It took place over several years and is strongly indicative of systemic failures at Credit Suisse. He could not have acted alone over such a long period of time."

Credit Suisse said as of late Monday it had so far only received the claim filed in New Zealand and that this statement of claim did not present any new facts.

“It is mainly based on the issues/allegations arising out of the criminal proceedings against the former relationship manager in Geneva. Credit Suisse will take appropriate action to defend the claims,” the bank said in a statement.

A lawyer for the former Credit Suisse client adviser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Geneva prosecutor’s office said the former client adviser is scheduled to go on trial towards the end of the autumn on charges of fraud, forgery and criminal mismanagement.

Mr Ivanishvili's lawyers say they are broadening the legal battle to countries where Credit Suisse had units through which L. invested.

In the Singapore and New Zealand proceedings, Mr Ivanishvili is claiming losses incurred because the bank allegedly abused his trust and because "trustees failed to monitor what the bank was doing", according to the statement.

The losses came to light in 2015 when shares in a small-cap US company the adviser had invested in fell sharply.

Last year, lawyers for Mr Ivanishvili filed a Swiss criminal complaint against Credit Suisse alleging the bank did not have the necessary controls in place, which allowed money to be laundered through its systems.