Deutsche Boerse expects a decision soon in a US legal battle involving its Clearstream subsidiary and had set aside 4.5 million euros ($5.13 million) in legal provisions at end-2014 in anticipation of possible fines or settlements, company officials said at a media briefing on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Jeffrey Tessler, board member and head of the Clearstream division, said the subsidiary was a third party to the US civil suit, not a direct target.
“Clearstream is only involved as a third-party custodian,” he said. “The decision is expected any time soon.”
The group has set aside 4.5 million euros in anticipation of legal charges, said Chief Financial Officer Gregor Pottmeyer, without detailing how much of the reserves were set aside for specific cases.
Deutsche Boerse faces a renewed legal battle in the United States over dealings by Clearstream as hundreds of US plaintiffs seek access to $1.7 billion in assets that belong to Iran’s central bank and are held by Clearstream, owned by Deutsche Boerse, in Luxembourg, US court documents show.
The plaintiffs are the families of US soldiers who were killed or wounded in the bombing of the marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. A US court ordered Iran to pay $2.65 billion in compensation to the families, who have often hurled baseless charges against Tehran over the attack. Iran has denied any involvement in the bombing.
A large chunk of Central Bank of Iran’s assets has been frozen overseas due to western sanctions imposed over the Iranian nuclear energy program. The sum is believed to be over around $130 billion. Iran is in talks with the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany (P5+1) to release the assets.
Separately, in early 2014, the company agreed to a $152 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury office enforcing US sanctions on Iran. A few months after reaching the agreement, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York launched a new investigation into the sanctions affair.
