A former executive for five years at the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. alleges he was wrongly fired and retaliated against after he reported his supervisor’s potentially illegal acts to the bank’s in-house counsel.

John “Jack” Yang, former head of the Americas for the bank’s Alcentra NY unit, has filed suit in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York seeking up to $16 million in damages. Alcentra NY, also a defendant, is an investment adviser and subsidiary that shares BNY Mellon’s legal, human resources and other services.