Citigroup Inc, the financial services company fired Ramesh Menon on Tuesday, after he sued the bank for racial bias, a charge the bank denied.
In October, Menon, a managing director and head of US structured products at Citigroup, filed a case in a Manhattan court accusing Citi of underpaying him and denying him promotions because of his race.
He further alleged that the bank had demoted him for complaining about racial discrimination and sought $138 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
A Citibanker was quoted on a a web site as alleging that Menon was dismissed because he failed to perform his managerial duties and his attendance record was poor. The bank said Menon was served a written warning about his conduct in October, which he chose to ignore.
In the suit filed in the Manhattan court, 43-year-old Menon, an Indian American who joined Citigroup in 1996, accused the bank of routinely underpaying him since late 1997 and awarding promotions to 'white men.'
Menon told the media that his 2004 compensation totaled $2.25 million, or about 'one per cent of his unit's revenue', which was far below the industry norm.
