ANZ escapes $30m lawsuit

A $30m lawsuit against ANZ has been withdrawn by Etienne Alexiou, a former ANZ staffer, who had claimed that the bank had condoned of a culture of sex, drugs and alcohol among traders. Alexiou was sacked by ANZ in 2015 for breaches of conduct and will now pay his own legal costs. Meanwhile, ANZ has maintained that the claims pursued by Alexiou were unfairly subjected and unfounded. 

A former ANZ staffer who started a multi-million-dollar legal action against his ex-employer, alleging that the bank had condoned a culture of sex, drugs and alcohol among senior traders, has withdrawn the lawsuit.





Etienne Alexiou was suing the ANZ bank for $30 million in damages and lost income.





Mr Alexiou and another trader, Patrick O'Connor, were sacked by ANZ in 2015 for breaches of conduct.





ANZ said on Tuesday that it had not paid any money to Mr Alexiou, and each party would pay their own legal costs.





"The closure of this case means all legal action initiated by employees who were dismissed in late 2015 for serious breaches of our code of conduct has been withdrawn," ANZ chief risk officer Nigel Williams said.





Mr Williams said it was disappointing that ANZ's business and staff had been unfairly subjected to unfounded claims.





ANZ said in a statement in January that Mr O'Connor's dismissal related to abuse of a company-issued credit card, and that both Mr O'Connor's and Mr Alexiou's sackings related to offensive electronic communication.





Following their dismissal, the two traders started separate legal claims for damages and lost income against the ANZ,





Mr Alexiou had sought $30 million and Mr O'Connor $5 million.



