US investment bank Lehman Brothers has announced that it plans on suing a Japanese trading house, alleging it has been the victim of fraud.
The bank said it was aiming to recover $350 million (£175 million) from Marubeni over loans given to the now bankrupt medical company Asclepius.
Lehman Brothers claim the money, which was supposed to be used to finance medical leases, was backed by the Japanese trading house.
Marubeni claimed that it may also have been the victim of fraud and fired two employees on March 10th.
"We are confident in our legal claim which we will pursue until we receive repayment from Marubeni," Matthew Russell, of Lehman Brothers, said.
He claimed that the US bank had been working closely with Japanese authorities on "a fraud that was perpetrated by employees at Marubeni... at the company's offices."
Marubeni however remains defiant and claimed in a statement: "We have nothing to do with the fraudulent acts, and we have no obligation to cover any repayment requests."
Kyodo News reported that Asclepius sacked its then-president on March 7th and no one from the now bankrupt company has been available for comment.
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