Citadel drops Portofino suit, seeks founder's bankruptcy
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- Citadel abandoned its U.S. trade secrets lawsuit against Portofino Technologies on Wednesday, jointly stipulating dismissal in Miami federal court because it concluded any judgment would likely go uncollected.
- Lancia now faces a London High Court bankruptcy petition from Citadel over a £5.98 million 2025 London Court of International Arbitration award, plus interest and costs, that has gone unpaid.
- Citadel estimates it holds security worth only about £21,886 against the debt—mostly small bank accounts and minority stakes in French companies—after an April statutory demand went unsatisfied and Lancia's attempt to set it aside was dismissed in May.
- Portofino's U.S. lawyer David Slarskey countered that Citadel won just £50,000 in arbitration and nothing on trade secret claims after seeking hundreds of millions, calling the firm an 'abusive litigant' that chases former employees 'around the globe to retaliate.'
- A Citadel Securities spokesperson said Lancia 'repeatedly lied to his colleagues' and to Portofino's investors, and the firm pledged to enforce the UK judgment; Lancia also remains subject to a worldwide freezing order after a June 26 High Court hearing found little evidence his Portofino stake held significant value.
Why it matters: Citadel won the legal battle but is losing the collection war: against a £5.98 million arbitration award, the firm can identify only ~£21,886 in assets, forcing it to weaponize bankruptcy proceedings rather than chase another unsatisfied judgment. Portofino's counsel frames the whole saga as retaliation by a deep-pocketed employer against a former employee who dared to leave—suggesting the case is becoming a test of whether arbitration wins against thinly-capitalized crypto founders are worth the paper they're printed on.
