London-based Pakistani banker Sadeq Sayeed has been accused by Italian banking regulators of causing obstruction and making false statements, it has been reported by the global press. Sayeed was made head of European operations by the Japanese Investment Bank Nomura, upon acquisition of Lehman Brothers (now defunct US Investment Bank for one dollar).
Sayeed left Nomura, last year, reportedly disagreeing with the restructuring of Nomura's European and Asian operations. Prosecutors in Italy are said to have seized about 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of assets from Nomura Holdings Inc as part of an investigation into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA's use of derivatives to hide losses.
Sayeed, Nomura's former European head, and Raffaele Ricci, a managing director in fixed-income sales, are also being probed for allegedly colluding to obstruct regulators and making false statements, prosecutors in Siena, where the bank is based, said in a statement. They are also sequestering 14.4 million euros worth of assets from three former Monte Paschi managers already under investigation, including Chairman Giuseppe Mussari, General Manager Antonio Vigni and finance chief Gianluca Baldassarri. Sayeed, 59, said he denied any allegation of wrongdoing against him.