(Adds details of lawsuit and context, paragraphs 3-8)
By Ana Mano
Nov 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian mining company Samarco Mineração SA SAMNE.UL was sued by creditors in the United States on Monday, accusing it of making false statements about a deadly dam disaster in November 2015.
Banco Safra's Cayman Islands branch, individually and on behalf of investors holding Samarco's bonds due in 2022, 2023 and 2024, said Samarco and Ricardo de Aragão, chief executive offer at the time of the accident, made "false and or misleading statements" related to "the longstanding systemic and structural defects" in the Fundão tailings dam.
Samarco representatives were not immediately available for comment on the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. Samarco stopped production after the disaster.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for damages caused by any violations of U.S. securities laws and seeks class action, or group status, for investors. It said New York was the proper jurisdiction because the bank bought Samarco notes from broker-dealers and counterparties in the district.
Banco Safra's lawsuit makes reference to a burst tailings dam at a Samarco mine, which unleashed a mud flow that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless and polluted the Rio Doce River.
The government called it Brazil's worst environmental disaster.
Samarco, a 50-50 joint venture between Vale VALE5.SA and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX , has $2.2 billion in outstanding bond debt. The company is in default after missing two interest payments related to its bond obligations. Safra also claims investors were led to believe Samarco had taken measures to avoid a catastrophic disaster at its Fundão tailings dam, but these measures were not in place.
The case is Banco Safra - Cayman Islands branch v Samarco Mineracao, et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cv-08800