BDO Stoy Hayward ignored by department of justice
Investigators from the US Department of Justice have ignored BDO Stoy Hayward in their search for confidential information relating to a probe into online gaming
It emerged this weekend that the DoJ had subpoenaed investment banks,
accountants and advisers acting for online gaming companies.
But BDO, the auditor for 888, PartyGaming and Sportingbet, the three largest
online gaming stocks, said the DoJ had not been in contact.
The subpoenas were issued shortly after US president George Bush signed off
surprising legislation outlawing internet gambling in the US last autumn.
HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are all
believed to have received requests for emails and telephone records.
‘We have not heard from the US authorities or had any requests for
information,’ a BDO spokeswoman told Accountancy Age.
The investigation marks an unprecedented level of US regulatory creep into
the business affairs of the UK. Online gaming is a legal and legitimate industry
in the UK.