MORE than 200 investors who lost a total of about $17 million on structured notes sold by DBS Bank are suing the bank in a bid to get their money back.

Legal firm Premier Law, which served notice on DBS on Thursday, said the claim is based on the 'prospectus and pricing statement relating to the Notes 5'.

The investors want the notes declared 'void' and their stakes repaid.

'The investors have taken this course of action after careful consideration, having sought advice from their legal advisors,' said Premier Law.

A DBS spokesman said on Thursday night that the bank remains confident that the case is 'without merit and we will defend it'.

The Straits Times understands that the 204 investors involved in the suit had lost about $17 million on the complex structured notes.

More than 1,400 investors here bought $103 million worth of DBS High Notes 5. More than half of them invested $50,000 or less.

A report from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday detailed flaws in the sales processes of 10 financial institutions - including DBS - that sold products like DBS High Notes 5 linked to failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

DBS High Notes 5 were offered to better-off customers last year with a promised annual return of about 5 per cent, but the investors were told by the bank in October that their entire stake had been wiped out with the collapse of Lehman.

Many investors complained that they had been mis-sold the complex structured notes, with some claiming they were told the notes were a low-risk investment.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.