HONG KONG (Dow Jones) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is expected to file a lawsuit in a Tokyo court Monday seeking repayment from Marubeni Corp. of $350 million in funds its says were misappropriated in a loan fraud carried out by two former employees of the Japanese trading house, according to news reports.

Lehman last year granted loans to a fund run by a medical consulting firm owned by LTT Bio-Pharma Co. in Tokyo, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The funds were to be used for the purchase of medical equipment and were secured with certificates bearing Marubeni letterhead and a seal of a Marubeni board member, the Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The New York-based investment bank later found the board member's seal was forged, the report said.

Marubeni said it is a victim of identify fraud and that the documents involved in the transaction were forged. Marubeni said in a weekend statement an internal investigation showed it had no involvement in the forgery of documents used to secure the loans and had no obligation to compensate Lehman's for its losses.

Reports said a minimum of two meetings to finalize the deal were conducted at Marubeni's Tokyo headquarters.

Lehman entered into the transaction with two Marubeni employees who were at the time senior staff with the Japanese firm's life care business. The two employees have since been sacked, although Marubeni has not said why they were terminated.

Shares of Marubeni (MARUY) were down 7% at the midday recess in Tokyo trading Monday.

A Lehman statement cited in The Journal report said the investment bank "was closely working with authorities to seek full recovery of funds it believes to have been frequently misappropriated."

The funds weren't repaid at the end of February, prompting concern at Lehman. The unit of LTT Bio-Pharma filed for bankruptcy protection on March 19.

Lehman said that it has investigated the situation and filed a criminal complaint with Japanese police.

Both companies are cooperating with Japanese authorities, the Journal reported.

Lehman Bros. (LEH) shares fell 2.2% Friday to close at $37.87.

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  03-31-08 0044ET
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