JPMorgan Sues Greece’s Viva Wallet Over ‘Unlawful Actions’

The legal battle between J.P. Morgan Chase and Greece’s Viva Wallet is not over.

The Wall Street banking giant has filed a pair of lawsuits related to its investment in the FinTech, Reuters reported Wednesday (Jan. 8). It marks the latest chapter in an ongoing disagreement between the companies over the value of Viva Wallet.

The Reuters report, citing a source with knowledge of the matter, said J.P. Morgan filed a suit in Greece last week seeking $944 million and claiming that Viva founder and CEO Haris Karonis, and three other executives “deprived JPMorgan of the value of its 2022 investment in Viva through unlawful actions from March 2022 onwards.”V

Viva confirmed the suits in a statement from Karonis provided to PYMNTS

“These proceedings are simply the latest step in J.P. Morgan’s concerted effort to depreciate Viva’s value, to preclude it from expanding in the United States and elsewhere, and intimidate its directors,” the CEO said.

Viva Wallet provides card acceptance through its point-of-sale (POS) application, add-on Google Play devices, and payment systems through online stores throughout Europe. It is now one of Europe’s largest FinTechs.

J.P. Morgan purchased a 48.5% stake in the FinTech in late 2022 for roughly $800 million. Investment company Werealize owns the remaining stake. The Reuters report notes that the deal forbids Werealize from rejecting any J.P. Morgan offer to take control of Viva if the business’s value drops below 5 billion euros by July 30 of this year.

According to Reuters, J.P. Morgan has also this week sued Werealize, claiming the company violated shareholder agreements by causing Viva not to respect the obligation to get JPMorgan’s consent before taking certain “specified significant business actions.”

A spokesperson for J.P. Morgan told PYMNTS, “We are disappointed that since the firm’s investment in 2022, WRL has repeatedly and persistently sought to undermine JPM’s rights by breaching the agreement that formed the basis of the firm’s investment. These actions harm not only Viva but also Greece’s attractiveness for future significant investments. We now look to the courts to enforce the contract terms agreed upon between us.”

PYMNTS has reached out to Werealize for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

In February of last year, Karonis sued J.P. Morgan, accusing the larger company of trying to drive down Viva’s valuation. The suit also alleged that J.P. Morgan was preventing Viva from expanding into the U.S. and new European markets, and was hiring the company by allowing J.P. Morgan’s payments business to compete with Viva in parts of Europe.

J.P. Morgan had also filed an earlier claim against Viva’s Karonis, accusing the founder of taking measures to “limit or circumvent our contractual and legal rights as an investor.”

In June of 2024, a judge in London issued a ruling on how Viva should be valued, with both sides expressing satisfaction with the outcome.