Last week, SIAS organised a seminar to provide information on the filing of claims with Lehman Brothers Inc.
Lehman Brothers is in liquidation in the US and all creditors must lodge their claims with the US trustee, James W. Giddens, appointed under the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, as amended (“SIPA”) on or before 1 June 2009.
SIAS has a statement written in bold and capital letters on their website saying they cannot provide any advice as to whether a claim should be filed and how to go about it. However, they just published a FAQ today with more information for Minibond holders.
At about the same time when this first surfaced, MAS issued a statement saying that the two Lehman Brothers entities incorporated in Singapore, Lehman Brothers Pte Ltd (LBPL) and Lehman Brothers Singapore Pte Ltd (LBSPL), hold a few hundred million in assets here. Similarly like SIAS, MAS is unable to provide any legal advice to investors on whether they should file a claim.
HSBC Institutional Trust Services has also updated their FAQ today with more information on this claiming process. They have also sent out a letter to affected Minibond holders. Inside the letter, they stated that they will not be filing a claim as they are not in a position to do so. The softcopy of this letter can be downloaded here : Lehman Liquidation Claim Notice from HSBC
The website for filing a claim can be found here:
The process can be done electronically and the general claim form (not the SIPC form) should be used.
I’m afraid the whole thing is going to make everyone even more confused. Basically, SIAS, MAS and HSCB are telling you to consult your own lawyer on what to do next.
Unfortunately, I’m not legally trained and am unable to provide any proper advice on this. Hope to generate some useful discussion here.