Elliott Says Santander’s Use of Signal Message App Hampers Claim

Elliott Investment Management has alleged that Banco Santander SA’s practice of using an auto-deleting messaging platform, in this instance to discuss a take-private deal, is hampering its long-running lawsuit against the bank.

The hedge fund sued Santander affiliates and board members of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. in 2022 for allegedly rigging the $12.7 billion take-private buyout of its US auto loan business to keep potentially billions worth of pandemic-related profits in the Spanish bank’s hands.

During pre-trial information exchanges, Elliott now says it uncovered “significant destruction of relevant evidence” relating to Signal messages sent around the time of ...