Ex-Georgia PM blames Credit Suisse unit in Singapore case for $1.27 billion losses

Ex-Georgia prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili blamed Credit Suisse Trust Ltd in Singapore for failing to take steps to prevent him from losing $1.27 billion.

His losses were traced back to Patrice Lescaudron, a former Geneva-based banker.

Ivanishvili testified from Georgia to the Singapore International Commercial Court via video link. According to his lawyers' opening statement, the trustee calculated his losses at $818.2 million, which was less than their estimate of $1.27 billion.

In asking the court to dismiss the claim, the trust unit of Credit Suisse described "the quantum of damages” claimed by the plaintiffs as “extreme."

In 2018, a Swiss court found Lescaudron guilty of forging the signatures of former clients, including Ivanishvili, over eight years. He admitted falsifying trades and concealing losses as part of tens of millions of Swiss francs scheme.