Enrico Bondi, the administrator of Parmalat, is suing JPMorgan and Uni- Credito for damages, asking for €4.4bn ($5.4bn) and starting what could be a new wave of legal actions against banks that he believes helped prolong fraud at the Italian dairy company.

The actions are the first damages claims filed by Mr Bondi in Italy. He has filed damages claims against groups including Citigroup and Bank of America in the US. He has also filed in Italy a number of claims against banks that seek to unwind transactions they helped arrange for Parmalat.