A U.K. judge has ordered JPMorgan Chase to stop suing the directors of Greek fintech Viva Wallet amid its international legal battle with Viva majority shareholder Werealize.
JPMorgan sued four Viva executives, along with Werealize, for €917 million in damages in January, one year after Viva CEO Haris Karonis first sued the U.S. bank for allegedly impeding the fintech’s growth.
JPMorgan alleged that the fintech’s executives deprived the bank of “the value of its investment in Viva” through illegal actions starting in March 2022. JPMorgan purchased 49.5% of Viva earlier in 2022, and the balance of the fintech is owned by Werealize.
But U.K. Judge David Foxton granted Werealize and Viva’s directors an anti-suit injunction Friday on the grounds that filing the lawsuit in Greece violated the firms’ shareholder agreement.
“We welcome the Court’s finding that JPM breached its Shareholders’ Agreement (SHA) with WRL and must discontinue its baseless Greek proceedings against certain Viva board members, in which it claimed €917 million in damages (the amount invested in Viva),” Karonis said in a prepared statement. “Today’s judgment exposes JPM’s strategy for what it is: a targeted campaign of lawfare, aimed at pressuring WRL and intimidating Viva’s directors through meritless litigation, solely to obstruct WRL’s contractual right to exercise its call option and assume full control of Viva.”
He added that the bank “must now step aside and allow Viva to continue growing and reach its full commercial potential.”
JPMorgan, however, also claimed victory following Foxton’s ruling.
“We are pleased that the court ruled predominantly in our favor, and that WRL/Viva can no longer unjustly target our colleagues who served diligently on the Viva board,” a spokesperson said via email. “It is worth noting that Greek courts independently dismissed their baseless charges against our colleagues, as well.”
“The UK court also rejected any claims of JPM acting abusively or in bad faith,” the spokesperson said. “While we will continue to address their litigious tactics, and many matters are still being resolved by the courts, our commitment remains steadfast to the business and our investment.”
While Karonis called on JPMorgan to “bring an end to this pattern of self-embarrassment and engage in productive discussion,” JPMorgan’s spokesperson said the bank hopes the rulings encourage Werealize “to redirect their focus and energy towards the success of Viva.”
In May, JPMorgan withdrew its claim that Werealize breached its shareholder agreement with JPMorgan by allowing Viva to take certain business actions without obtaining JPMorgan’s consent. The claims were specific to the U.K. lawsuit.
