IBM Corp’s Argentine adventure is getting stickier by the day, and in response to its $86m lawsuit over the cancellation of the $249m contract with the bank to automate 525 branches, Banco de la Nacion Argentina is now counter-suing IBM for $173.6m. Banco Nacion announced in June that it was canceling the contract on the basis of a third-party review, and it is seeking to recover the $80m already paid, plus compensation. IBM Argentina is accused of paying bribes to land the contract, and Federal Judge Adolfo Bagnasco indicted 30 people in March on charges of defrauding the state, including Banco Nacion’s former president, Aldo Dadone, and IBM Argentina’s former president, Ricardo Martorana. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities & Exchange Commission are also looking into the case.
