Credit Suisse bondholders have sued Switzerland over the decision to wipe out $17 billion of debt when the bank was rescued by its rival UBS last year. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFPCredit Suisse bondholders have sued Switzerland over the decision to wipe out $17 billion of debt when the bank was rescued by its rival UBS last year.
The case, which is filed in the Southern District of New York, is brought by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on behalf of investors holding $80 million of Credit Suisse bonds. Lst year it was reported that the firm was drawing up plans for the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are seeking $82.2 million in damages, plus costs and interest, for what they allege was seizure of their rightful property.
“Switzerland abandoned its regulatory role for that of a private investment bank — prioritising national interests over its legal obligations,” said Dennis Hranitzky, partner and head of Quinn Emanuel’s sovereign litigation practice. Quinn Emanuel has a history of dragging nation-states through the courts, most notably Argentina in a long-running legal fight over sovereign bonds that the country issued as part of its post-financial crisis debt restructuring.