The family feud that’s tearing apart one of Canada’s richest families is getting nastier.

Former Magna International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Belinda Stronach -- already the target of a C$520 million ($397 million) lawsuit filed by her billionaire father Frank Stronach -- is now being sued by her brother Andrew. He says he’s lost trust in Belinda and wants her removed from a family trust and replaced by his father.

The suit claims Belinda and trustees “have undertaken a number of improvident and costly investments that have resulted in significant losses.” As a result, “the Stronach Group now finds itself in a liquidity crisis and is actively attempting to sell off valuable real estate and other assets.”

Andrew Stronach’s lawsuit, filed Nov. 1 in Toronto, is the latest twist in an increasingly bitter dispute that erupted after Frank Stronach left Canada in 2013 for a brief foray into politics in his native Austria -- handing control over a key trust to his daughter, now 52, and trustees such as Alon Ossip, a former Magna executive.

Since November 2013, the lawsuit says, Belinda Stronach has controlled various trusts and companies that form the Stronach Group and hold most of the wealth created by the Magna founder. Andrew, whom the lawsuit says “has dedicated his life to agricultural pursuits,” owns 23 percent of the Stronach Group through his own trust.

This year, as the dispute intensified, Andrew made numerous attempts to obtain “a proper accounting” for the trust -- such as the three most recent financial statements. “To date, Andrew’s proper and reasonable requests for information have been ignored, or only partially answered after lengthy delays and following repeated requests for disclosure,” according to the lawsuit filed with the Ontario Superior Court.

Complete Breakdown
As a result of Belinda’s conduct, “there has been a complete breakdown in trust and confidence” between Andrew, his parents and the so-called “Belinda trustees,” according to the lawsuit. “Andrew has no confidence in the willingness or ability of the Belinda trustees to discharge properly, or at all, their duties as trustees.”

No statement of defense against either lawsuit has yet been filed.

“The filing on behalf of my brother is an extension of my father’s legal pursuit against me and my children, and the allegations remain just as untrue,” Belinda Stronach said in a statement Monday. “We will be responding formally in due course. It saddens me greatly that we have reached this juncture in our family.”

Paul Deegan, a spokesman for Ossip, called the claims “wholly without merit. Mr. Stronach and his lawyers have been provided with detailed financials of the trusts and subsidiary corporations. They have also been offered access repeatedly to key individuals in the organization to answer any questions and provide additional information. This is a Stronach family dispute that should be resolved by the family.”

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