Drew & Napier Secures Omni Bridgeway Funding To Sue Swiss Government For At1 Wipe-Out

Drew & Napier Secures Omni Bridgeway Funding To Sue Swiss Government For At1 Wipe-Out

Singapore-based Law Firm Drew & Napier is forging ahead with litigation against Switzerland with the backing of litigation financing company Omni Bridgeway.

This move intensifies pressure on Swiss authorities, who are already contending with numerous legal battles arising from UBS' $3.3 billion takeover of its former rival, Credit Suisse, in March of the previous year.

Drew & Napier is representing over 300 investors, primarily located in Asia, in pursuing an investor-state action against the Swiss government.

The legal challenge arises from Swiss authorities' efforts to prevent the complete collapse of Credit Suisse by directing the embattled lender to write off an aggregate claim of $18 billion of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds.

AT1 bonds, a form of debt convertible to equity or subject to write-off during banking crises, left holders without compensation following the Swiss state order, while shareholders emerged relatively unscathed.

Drew & Napier's team, Assisting Investors with an aggregate claim exceeding $200 million in Asia and other regions, is led by Mahesh Rai, Director of Dispute Resolution, and Jonathan Yong, Associate Director.

The action is based on bilateral investment treaties Switzerland has entered into with Asian countries, including Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea, obligating Switzerland to protect investors' rights and ensure fair treatment.

Over 120 investors in Japan with claims totalling around $80 million have joined Drew & Napier's investor-state action, with the firm continuing to onboard interested investors, expecting to commence its claim against the Swiss government shortly after June this year.

Following the Credit Suisse takeover, Drew & Napier collaborated with Swiss firm Nater Dallaflor to assist two groups of approximately 90 bondholders each in bringing administrative law challenges based on Swiss legal principles.

Omni Bridgeway, a global litigation funder, has garnered interest from over 100 investors with an aggregate claim of $60 to $70 million, joining the larger group led by the Singapore law firm.

Aside from Drew & Napier, Omni Bridgeway is also funding A&O Shearman, which is soliciting claimants for a separate group action to recover compensation lost in the AT1 bond write-off.