Haris Karonis Nick Paleologos/Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase has filed fresh lawsuits totaling about $943 million stemming from its investment in Viva Wallet, the latest legal salvo in a long-running dispute between the bank and Greek technology mogul Haris Karonis.The bank contends Viva’s managers deprived JPMorgan of the value of its investment. This is significant because the agreement with Karonis allows JPMorgan to take full control of Viva in June if the fintech’s valuation is below 5 billion euros, or about $5.3 billion.The new suit named Karonis, who is the CEO of Viva, and other executives. In a related case, the bank sued Werealize.com, Karonis’ company, which owns 51% of Viva Wallet. JPMorgan owns the rest.”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,” a JPMorgan spokesperson said in an email. Karonis countered JPMorgan’s complaint.”[The JPM lawsuits] are simply the latest step in JPM’s concerted effort to depreciate Viva’s value, preclude it from expanding in the United States and elsewhere in competition with JPM, and ensure that Viva’s directors do not feel free or able to take steps that are in Viva’s best interests but with which JPM disagrees,” Karonis said in an email. JPMorgan in 2022 first invested in Viva Wallet, an Athens-based company that sells bill pay, virtual payment cards and merchant credit in about two dozen European countries. The investment was designed to boost the bank’s merchant services business in the region by addressing processing challenges within the European Union. Despite sharing a common currency, payment acceptance varies in different European countries, creating a fragmented market for merchant acquiring. The partnership created an additional opportunity for JPMorgan to improve its ability to offer short-term credit to merchants backed by future payment flows — a similar product that fintechs such as Block and PayPal offer in the U.S., Europe and other regions to compete with established banks such as JPMorgan. Viva’s range of payments and financial services includes banking licenses Viva acquired in 2020 from Praxia Bank, a Greek financial institution, enhancing Viva’s ability to offer banking products and making it an attractive partner to JPMorgan. Viva received funding to fuel its own expansion as part of the deal. The terms of the JPMorgan/Viva investment were not disclosed at the time, but Nasdaq, Reuters and other media outlets reported JPMorgan’s stake was $1.1 billion and Viva’s valuation was $2 billion. Viva’s current valuation is unclear. A London judge in 2024 issued a ruling that set parameters on determining Viva’s valuation and was an attempt to brin
Gio. Gen 16th, 2025
