KIEV, April 10 ??“ A barrage of lawsuits recently filed against UkrSotsBank was part of a secret plan by a rival bank to prevent its acquisition by Italian banking group Banca Intesa, UkrSotsBank said Monday.

Banca Intesa has been seeking to acquire 88.1% stake in UkrSotsBank for $1.16 billion, but a number of lawsuits filed by individual shareholders throughout Ukraine apparently aim to stop the deal.