Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, said it may be out of pocket by $500 million if Shinsei Bank Ltd. gains control of the reorganization of an Asian Lehman unit, Sunrise Finance Co.

It is asking a U.S. judge to stop Shinsei, backed by U.S. investor Christopher Flowers, and hold it in contempt for violating a rule that stops creditors from seizing a bankrupt company's assets.

Bankrupt Sunrise expects to pay creditors 20 percent of their money, bringing about $490 million to Lehman Brothers Asia Holdings Ltd., $30,000 to its U.S. parent and $52 million to Shinsei, Lehman said in a court filing Wednesday. Shinsei proposed a competing plan in a Tokyo court that would give the company all its money back, and nothing to Lehman, it said.

Lehman, which filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September, is trying to recover money from affiliates such as Lehman Brothers Asia and Sunrise. Any case filed in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court gives that court jurisdiction over a debtor's assets, no matter where they are, according to New York-based Lehman.

Raymond Spencer, a spokesman for Shinsei, didn't immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment after hours in Tokyo. Sunrise and Lehman Brothers Asia started insolvency proceedings in September.