Citi in fraud suit claiming US$1.1b in losses

New York

CITIGROUP Inc was sued for fraud by investors and creditors of a bankrupt Mexican oil services firm over claims they were harmed by a loan scheme that also led the bank to cut 2013 profit by US$235 million and fire at least a dozen people.

Citigroup's loans led to the 2014 collapse of the Mexican firm, Oceanografia SA, and caused Dutch lender Rabobank Groep, with investors and creditors, to lose at least US$1.1 billion, according to the lawsuit filed on Friday in Miami federal court. Rabobank and other investors separately filed a negligence suit in Delaware state.