Lehman claims JP Morgan “siphoned off” billions of dollars of assets just prior to the bank’s collapse.

JP Morgan was Lehman’s main short-term lender at the time. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court accuses JPMorgan of using its “unparalleled access” to inside details of Lehman’s distress to extract $8.6 billion (£5.98bn) of collateral in the four business days ahead of Lehman’s 15 September, 2008, bankruptcy. A final insult – $5bn was taken on Lehman’s last business day.

“On the brink of LBHI’s bankruptcy, JP Morgan leveraged its life and death power as the brokerage firm’s primary clearing bank to force LBHI into a series of one-sided agreements and to siphon billions of dollars in critically needed assets,” Lehman said in the complaint.

“With this financial gun to Lehman’s head, JP Morgan was able to extract extraordinarily one-sided agreements from Lehman literally overnight.

“Those billions of dollars in collateral rightfully belong to the Lehman estate and its creditors.”

JP Morgan claims it’s all meritless.