Parmalat is seeking $10 billion in damages from Citigroup as part of the insolvent Italian food group's efforts to recover money from its former bankers, financial sources said today.
Parmalat's new administration is seeking the damages in a legal action filed in the US state of New Jersey and announced by the group on Thursday.
Parmalat's government-appointed administrator, Mr Enrico Bondi, said in a statement on Thursday the suit had been filed against Citigroup and some of its subsidiaries in the Superior Court of New Jersey, but it did not quantify the damages sought.
"We believe that Citigroup in 2003 provisioned more than $9 billion to cover various kinds of lawsuits," the source added.
Citigroup said it would continue to pursue its substantial claims against the company and defend itself "against frivolous claims in search of a deep pocket".
Parmalat, which imploded in December in a multi-billion euro fraud, has in the past said it would file suits against banks and securities firms that handled its bond sales.
Parmalat's former management as well as several Italian and foreign banks and the firm's former auditors are under investigation in Italy.