A lawsuit in a London court is shining a light on Credit Suisse's business in Azerbaijan. A former employee is suing the Swiss bank.
Yana Alexandroff has a bone to pick with Credit Suisse. She is asking a judge in London for $9.65 million from Switzerland's second-largest bank according to law portal «Law 360» (behind paywall).
The former investment banker claims that Credit Suisse promised her the rich payout if she arranged deals for the bank in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. Those included a bond on behalf of another bank in Tatarstan in the Russian Federation. Alexandroff was apparently also involved in the refinancing of several hundred million of state oil firm Socar in 2009.
Fees Promised?
She maintains that the Swiss bank promised her fees on both deals. If the Socar refinancing came to pass, she claims she was promised 1 percent of the total fees.
Alexandroff knows Credit Suisse intimately: she worked in the Swiss bank's emerging markets from 1997 to 2002. She is now suing the bank for not coughing up what she says was cash for her influential networking.
Credit Suisse didn't comment to «Law360,» but the bank denies owing Alexandroff any fees, according to the law portal, which cited court documents.
Client in Distress
Credit Suisse's apparently flourishing business in Azerbaijan has already drawn headlines: the bank is part of a consortium which lent to troubled International Bank of Azerbaijan, the country's largest bank.
IBA recently issued US$ bonds earlier this week to restructure its way out of the debt.
