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[marketmaven]

CROOK NEWS:Parmalat Seeks $10 Billion from Citigroup
(Crook vs Crook)

Friday July 30, 9:04 am ET By Christian Plumb
MILAN (Reuters) - Parmalat is seeking more than $10 billion in damages from Citigroup in a lawsuit that accuses the U.S. bank of helping defraud the Italian food firm and its shareholders and creditors of billions of dollars. The new administration of Parmalat said in the lawsuit filed on Thursday that "the top levels" of the world's leading financial services group played a crucial part in the multi-billion euro fraud that plunged the company into insolvency in December. "Citigroup engaged in a series of transactions with Parmalat or its subsidiaries whose only economic purpose was to enrich Citigroup, at the ultimate expense of Parmalat," according to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

"Citigroup's transactions with Parmalat were knowingly designed to assist Parmalat in a broad, continuing series of fraudulent transactions," it said. Citigroup declined comment on the specifics of the suit, a copy of which Reuters obtained on Friday. But it said it had been the victim of fraud perpetrated by Parmalat."Citigroup lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of Parmalat's fraudulent conduct, and we will continue to pursue our substantial claims against the company and defend against frivolous claims in search of a deep pocket," the bank said.