Ex-Moody’s analyst sues for defamation
A former Moody’s analyst, who drew attention to what he considered questionable credit ratings for some of the most toxic securities in the US financial crisis, yesterday sued the company, accusing it of campaigning to discredit him.
Ilya Eric Kolchinsky, a former managing director at Moody’s Investor Service, oversaw ratings of pools of debt backed by mortgage securities and other assets, sued both the firm and its chief executive Raymond McDaniel for defamation in Manhattan federal court.
A Moody’s spokesman said Kolchinsky had not served his complaint on the company.
“However, we are confident that he has no basis for any suit against Moody’s,” he said.