Lehman asks if Barclays paid enough for US unit

Lehman Brothers is seeking court permission to examine whether Barclays paid it enough for its brokerage unit in the US.

Lehman sold its North American broker-dealer business, its New York headquarters and other property to Barclays for $1.75 billion (£1.14 billion) last September, a few days after it filed for bankruptcy protection.

But in documents filed with the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan this morning Lehman said it "has become aware of apparent material discrepancies relating to the liabilities Barclays was to assume".

It said that those "discrepancies", which "may have resulted in a windfall to Barclays [worth] billions of dollars", include Barclays' obligation to pay employee bonuses.

A spokesman for Barclays declined to comment.

Separately, Lehman has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to transfer a portion of its assets to companies founded by former Lehman employees who used to manage the assets in question, saying they were "uniquely suited to manage the funds".

Lehman said in previous court documents that "the expense of maintaining the assets itself, would exceed the benefit of doing so".

A court hearing on the request is set for 24 June.