Auditors and banks avoid claims over Parmalat
US judge throws out case against auditors and bankers of Parmalat, saying that allegations relate to incidents outside America
A US judge has thrown out cases against the auditors and bankers of Parmalat,
the Italian dairy company that collapsed in 2003 because of accounting fraud.
The cases – against Deloitte & Touche’s US and Italian units, Grant
Thornton International’s US business, Bank of America, Italy’s Banca Nazionale
del Lavoro SpA, and units of Credit Suisse Group – were brought by the plan
administrator for Parmalat USA and the litigation trustee for its Farmland
dairies unit, both of which are former US subsidiaries of Parmalat.
Judge Lewis Kaplan told the subsidiary’s legal counsel that the majority of
the alleged wrongdoing attributed to the banks and auditors occurred outside the
jurisdiction of the United States and that the defendants therefore did not have
to face charges, CFO.com reported.
In January Deloitte and Dianthus SpA – which operated in Italy under the
Deloitte name until 2003 – agreed to pay $149m in damages to Parmalat to settle
US claims. At the time, the parties also agreed to withdraw all pending actions
and allegations between them.
Further reading:
Parmalat founder and CFO charged over collapse
Deloitte ordered to pay £66m in Parmalat settlement
Auditors,
Banks Avoid Parmalat Charges
