Credit Suisse ordered to pay $926 million to former Georgia prime minister

Credit Suisse has been ordered by a Singapore judge to pay $926 million to former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, a final blow to the bank just weeks before UBS is expected to complete its takeover.

Billionaire Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man, won a lawsuit against the Swiss bank in Bermuda last year, where he was awarded $607.5 million.

Ivanishvili’s dispute with Credit Suisse dates back to 2011 when he was a client and victim of a private banker who defrauded some of the Swiss lender’s most sensitive accounts.

Credit Suisse, which has been embroiled in several lawsuits in recent years, is being taken over by UBS as part of a state-orchestrated rescue. The deal is likely to close in the coming days.