BDO International distances itself from $521m claim

BDO International lawyers are confident that a US jury will not plunge it back into a $521m (£255m) court battle.

Member firm BDO Seidman was found negligent and hit with damages last year in a lawsuit by Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo, but the case is now under appeal.

Early in the trial, the judge dismissed BDO International from the case, but the network must now go in front of an appeals court jury to set out why they should not be held culpable.

'We're confident that when [BDO International] go in front of a jury they will see that there's no connection here,' said Mark Raymond of law firm Broad and Cassel. The audits [conducted by member firms]are done independently. We have no control over it's audits and we should therefore not be held responsible.'

Earlier today, Banco Espirito Santo attorney Steven Thomas said: 'The victory means that ultimately BDO International, along with all the BDO member firms and offices worldwide, will be jointly liable for the $521m judgment against BDO Seidman.'

'That's a heck of a jump,' said a BDO Seidman spokesperson. 'The case is curently under appeal.'