NETHERLANDS - Dutch civil service scheme ABP says it could receive ‘millions’ from TimeWarner in compensation for accounting irregularities which caused a steep fall in the US media group’s share price.

ABP, Europe’s largest pension scheme, is suing TimeWarner over inflated results at America Online, which merged with TimeWarner in 2001. The share price dropped after the transaction.

According to ABP’s head of legal advice Rene Maatman, the €178bn pension fund has made a claim of $200m. But it isn’t realistic to expect the full amount to be paid, he indicated.

Earlier this week, TimeWarner decided to set aside $3bn for settlements with angry investors. A reservation of $600m has been made for individual cases.

“By suing on an individual basis, ABP reckons on receiving more compensation then by joining a collective class action,” Maatman said.

He said the fund recently won an individual case against drugs firm Bristol-Myers Squibb. This saw it win $4.5m in compensation - instead of the $0.75m it would have won in a collective suit.

“ABP has similar court cases pending against Nortel, Qwest and Delphi, from which it claims $100m, $100m and $14m respectively,” Maatman told IPE. The scheme is being supported by a group of legal advisers in the US.