Pannells will front Morgan Grenfell probe
A team of fraud investigators from Pannell Kerr Forster will lead the probe into allegations that Peter Young, the disgraced former fund manager at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management, acted for personal gain when he set up a string of holding companies in offshore financial centres.
The Serious Fraud Office confirmed last week that it had appointed a small team from Pannells following an open tender. Accountancy Age understands the team will be led by forensic accounting partner Nick Whitaker.
The SFO has been investigating the activities of Peter Young since last October when MGAM decided there was a criminal case to answer.
MGAM’s parent company, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that ‘a device used by Young to divert money and opportunities of the European Growth Fund and the European Growth Trust for his own benefit’.
MGAM made these allegations after an initial report by Ernst & Young from the company which highlighted a series of breaches of internal controls and regulations. Five senior managers were subsequently dismissed by MGAM chief executive Robert Smith.
An SFO spokeswoman said the investigation had been carried out by its own staff for the last four months. ‘But there aren’t enough in-house staff to conduct an investigation of this size. That is why we went out to tender.’
She denied that Pannells had won the tender after it presented the lowest bid. ‘Cost is a factor, but we take into account other criteria too,’ she said.
A spokeswoman for Pannells said the firm was unable to comment.
