Banker sues Deutsche Bank for unfair dismissal after Libor probe

By Steve Slater

LONDON (IFR) - A former senior Deutsche Bank employee is suing the German bank for alleged sex discrimination and unfair dismissal after she was fired in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal.

Shivani Mathur, who was Deutsche's London-based global head of economic resources, has lodged her claim at the central London employment tribunal. Her hearing is due to begin on January 21, according to court records released on Wednesday.

Deutsche Bank agreed in April 2015 to pay US$2.5bn to US and UK authorities for manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor.

The bank was also ordered to fire seven employees as part of its settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services. Mathur was one of the seven.

"We were ordered to terminate Ms Mathur's employment in connection with a regulatory settlement," a spokesman for Deutsche Bank said. He declined to comment further.

Mathur joined Deutsche Bank in July 2008 and was at the bank until April 2015, according to the UK financial watchdog's register of approved persons. She is currently inactive, according to the register.

Mathur is claiming sex discrimination, unfair dismissal and suffering detriment after whistleblowing, according to a tribunal document. She could not be immediately reached for comment.

Deutsche Bank was one of several big European and US banks fined for failing to stop traders manipulating interest rate benchmarks, which are used to set prices for trillions of dollars in assets such as home loans and credit cards.

Mathur joins a growing list of former bank staff claiming at London employment tribunals they were unfairly fired following investigations into alleged manipulation of Libor and foreign-exchange markets.

In one of the first high profile cases an employment tribunal judge ruled in November against Citigroup, saying the US bank unfairly dismissed former FX trader Perry Stimpson.

(Reporting by Steve Slater; editing by Sudip Roy and Matthew Davies)