Trader sues RBS over alleged lending-rate fixing claim

Royal Bank of Scotland, the taxpayer-owned bank planning to cull as many as 5,000 investment banking jobs this week, is being sued for millions of dollars by a Singapore trader who claims he was accused of trying to fix inter-bank lending rates.

Tan Chi Min, a former employee of RBS's investment bank in Singapore handling trades on behalf of clients, has launched a wrongful dismissal suit in an attempt to claw back bonuses worth $1.5m (£972,000) and 3.3 million RBS shares worth $1.1m. Both sides declined to comment but Mr Tan's case, lodged in Singapore's High Court, says RBS accused him of trying to improperly influence the rate at which banks lent yen to each other.

He claims he was in no position to influence the rate, which is set by a panel of 16 banks.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission launched a inquiry last year into whether US and European banks were manipulating so-called Libor.