A BANK ordered to pay US$8.75 million (S$13.2 million) upfront to fight a suit filed against it by an Indonesian couple has been allowed to take its money back and continue its defence.

UBS placed the deposit last month, after being ordered by the court to do so, pending the outcome of a suit brought by business magnate Turniady Widjaja and his wife Rosemary over failed investments.

But in a closed-door hearing on Monday, Justice Lee Seiu Kin overturned the order and gave the bank unconditional leave to defend itself.

Read K. C. Vijayan's full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.