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MORE than 500 investors have started their claims process against Switzerland for its forced write-down of Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds in March 2023, said Singapore law firm Drew & Napier.

The investors, around 300 of whom are Singaporeans, are claiming losses amounting to about US$250 million, said Drew & Napier in a statement.

The law firm is leading an action against the Swiss government, to recover investors’ losses from the write-down arising from UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse.

It noted that this is the first time that such a large number of investors is bringing an investment treaty claim against the government of Switzerland; the sum of the claim is also the largest against Switzerland in treaty arbitration to date.

The investors have submitted trigger letters to Switzerland under various bilateral investment treaties between their home countries and Switzerland, which is the first step under the treaties and must be taken before the investors can commence arbitration proceedings.