JPMorgan Chase has filed new lawsuits in the UK and Greece connected to its investment in fintech Viva Wallet.
JPMorgan paid around $800 million for a 48.5% stake in Viva Wallet in 2022. The payment firm's founder, Haris Karonis, owns 51.49% through his Werealize.com operation.
Last year, Karonis began legal proceedings against the Wall Street bank over what he claims are tactics to suppress his company’s growth. Karonis alleged JPMorgan is trying to drive down the valuation of his business by blocking its entry into the US and new European markets.
Under the terms of the bank's investment in Viva, Werealize.com loses the right to reject a JPMorgan takeover offer if the fintech is valued below €5 billion in June 2025.
In June, a London judge dismissed the claim that JPMorgan had an incentive to depress Viva's valuation but set out how the business should be valued.
Now, according to Bloomberg, JPMorgan has gone on the offensive, filing a suit in Greece claiming €916 million over allegations that Karonis and three other executives deprived the bank of the value of its investment.
A separate UK case argues that Werealize.com breached shareholder agreements with JPMorgan, says Bloomberg, citing a source.
Karonis tells Bloomberg: “These proceedings are simply the latest step in JPM’s concerted effort to depreciate Viva’s value, to preclude it from expanding in the US and elsewhere, and intimidate its directors restricting their freedom of action.”
A JPMorgan statement says: "We are disappointed that since the firm’s investment in 2022, WRL has repeatedly and persistently sought to undermine JPMorgan’s rights by breaching the agreement that formed the basis of the firm’s investment. We now look to the courts to enforce the contract terms agreed upon between us."