High Court refuses two Barings claims
The High Court today ruled that two former Barings companies were unable to make a claim against Deloitte & Touch Singapore.
KPMG, the Barings liquidator, had hoped to retain the claims against Deloittes by Barings plc and Barings Securities Ltd, now part of Bishopscourt (BS) Ltd in London, as an alternative to the claim being perused by Barings Futures (Singapore) Pty Ltd.
The judgement will have no effect on the outstanding claim by Barings Futures against Deloittes, nor will it affect the settlement with the Coopers & Lybrand firms.
KPMG said it would consider the judgement before making an appeal against the ruling.
A statement on behalf of Rick Murray, legal adviser to Deloitte & ToucheSingapore, considered the ruling a victory for the firm.
It said: ‘The Barings liquidators suggest that the claim brought by Barings plc, which has just been struck off by the High Court, is a mere incident in the attempt to blame Deloitte & Touche Singapore for the failure of the Barings bank. But the truth is otherwise.’
‘The Barings plc claim was the first and primary suit. Indeed, it wasvirtually the only focus of the CDP mediation and the subsequentintervention of the US vulture funds. Consequently, we are very pleased atthe High Court’s confirmation of our long held confidence that the claimwas without merit.’
Deloittes was the auditor of Barings in Singapore when the bank collapsed in 1995.
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