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Prudential’s $1.8 Billion Damages Claim Branded ‘Absurd’ by Lawyers

  • Insurer claims ex-agent orchestrated mass defection to Aviva
  • Defence tells Singapore court claimed damages are ‘absurd’
Prudential Tower in Hong Kong As Ping An Group Said to Weigh Bid for Insurer's Asian Business
Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

Prudential Plc has been blinded by Othello’s green-eyed monster of envy and fear in claiming as much as S$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) in damages from its former star Singapore agent, the city-state’s High Court has heard.

The London-based insurer is suing Peter Tan Shou Yi, claiming that in 2016 he masterminded the mass defection of 244 agents and agency leaders to rival Aviva Plc. In their opening submission Friday, which started with a quote from Shakespeare’s play, Tan’s lawyers said the claim was “absurd” and an attempt “by a corporate giant to wreak vengeance on a former independent contractor.”