Late Tuesday -- on the one-year anniversary of its bankruptcy filing -- Lehman Brothers accused Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS) of taking $8.2 billion more than it should have when it purchased some of its key assets a year ago. Less than a week after Lehman filed for bankruptcy, the court approved of the sale to Barclays. Now Lehman is asking a judge to force Barclays to return some of the money taken as part of the deal, including $5 billion it says was given as extra collateral, which was not disclosed to the court.Interesting timing and an interesting claim, don't you think? The timing is interesting because it is a year after the bankruptcy filing, which sounds like more than just a coincidence. But what is truly interesting is the fact that Lehman is trying to get quite a bit of money back by making a claim that was not disclosed to the court.
The Lehman lawyers are hinting that the $8.2 billion may be a bit light, thanks to assets that it has yet to calculate. The bankrupt bank contends that Barclays took the original $5 billion, another $2.3 billion in margin deposits, and another $2.7 billion in "other assets."
I just wish there was some way that Lehman could be prosecuted for what sure looks like a money grab. Oh, hold on -- it looks like Lehman may be investigated by Anton Valukas, a specialist in white-collar crime. Valukas has been investigating Lehman since January and has yet to file his report. You can bet that this latest revelation will be investigated.
My question is, what gives? How can Lehman originally state that its assets were worth $8.2 billion and now feel these same assets are worth more? I truly hope that Valukas can find some wrongdoings, mainly because I want to see someone finally punished for trying to get more money out of another company.
Is it extortion? No, it doesn't seem that any threats were made to Barclays. Nevertheless, it sure appears that Lehman is trying to force Barclays into giving it more money.
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