TransAsia Commodities has hiked its claims against NewLead Holdings to $22m during a trial in New York.
The Serge Turko-led commodities trader's request before a special referee appointed by the New York Supreme Court includes punitive damages, sanctions and interest, the company says.
TradeWinds previously reported that TransAsia was pursuing some $10m in its long-running dispute over allegations that NewLead's coal mining joint venture sold it coal that it did not have from mines that it did not own.
The company has long alleged that NewLead's contentions that it controlled US coal mines were part of a "pump and dump scheme" designed to inflate the company's share price, which was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange at the time. The Greek shipowner, which could not be reached for comment, has denied this charge.
And TransAsia says that NewLead's counterclaims against the trading company, which went into administration, were withdrawn "long after the damage had been inflicted".
The damages trial follows a January decision by Judge Charles Ramos that awarded a judgment to TransAsia as a sanction after TransAsia's complaint that the company and former chief executive Michael Zolotas failed to comply with court orders.
The judgment, however, left the question of how much money to award UK-based TransAsia to special referee Jeremy Feinberg, who now will take his recommendations to the judge.
TransAsia's attorney Eric Freed of Cozen O'Connor laid out the damages request over the course of two days of hearings that concluded this week, TransAsia said in a statement.
No NewLead appearance
It was a one-sided trial. NewLead, which has previously disputed that the plaintiff suffered damages in the case, did not appear in the case.
Also targeted in the case are Zolotas, mining joint venture NewLead JMEG, and former chief executive and 50% owner Jan Berkowitz.
A damages award is expected to set up a hunt for NewLead assets to seize, though that will be complicated by the fact that the Athens-based company's ships have all been auctioned off or taken over by lenders.
