Citigroup files third lawsuit over accidental Revlon payment

(Reuters) – Citigroup Inc filed a third lawsuit on Friday in its latest attempt to recoup nearly $1 billion it mistakenly sent to lenders of Revlon Inc .

The third largest U.S. bank has so far sued a dozen firms after an “operational error” caused it to transfer $900 million of its own funds to Revlon creditors one day after the troubled cosmetics company was sued over its restructuring tactics.

Many firms returned the money at Citi’s request, the bank said in filings. But it has had to take legal action to recover over $500 million from lenders who are refusing to return the payment.

“Defendants have unreasonably and unlawfully attempted to capitalize on Citibank’s unfortunate error,” the complaint said.

(Reporting by Imani Moise; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)