“The litigation is wholly without merit”: Citigroup

Citigroup’s Singapore unit denied wrongdoing after an 88-year-old partly deaf client claimed he was misled by his banker.

According to a Bloomberg report, Ie Seng Hoan, an Indonesian textile businessman, accused Citigroup’s Singapore unit of negligent misrepresentations and hiding material facts and claimed the bank had “undue influence” on his investment decisions.

“He was also misled by his banker into believing he made a profit when he suffered a loss after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Sept. 2008, according to the lawsuit,” said the report.

Ie’s lawyer, Koh Hai Keong, was quoted as saying in his opening statement at a Singapore High Court trial: “It knew full well of Pak Ie’s health problems, his language difficulties and his lack of financial acumen and education.”

Meanwhile, according to the bank’s defense filed by its lawyer Hri Kumar, Citigroup has denied wrongdoing and sent Ie a letter in 2007 confirming that he had extensive investing experience and had an “aggressive” risk tolerance.

Godwin Chellam, spokesman for the bank, said, “The litigation is wholly without merit and we will defend it vigorously in court.”

View the report here.