The U.S. remains the hub of Madoff litigation and fall-out, but activity in the rest of the world is beginning to heat up, as well.
The Independent in Ireland reports that the Dublin, Ireland office of accounting firm PwC has now been named in a securities class action just filed in the United States in Miami by investors from Argentina and Chile. The lawsuit alleges “gross negligence” against PwC in role as the auditor of Optimal Multiadvisors, the fund marketed by Spanish bank Santander which invested indirectly with Mr Madoff.
U.S. law firm Hanzman Gilbert filed the lawsuit in Miami. According to the Independent, the complaint alleges that PwC in Dublin “failed to perform its annual audits of the financial statements and financial condition of the Optimal Fund . . . in accordance with professional standards applicable to those audits”. Two Irish units of HSBC — HSBC Securities Services and HSBC Institutional Trust Services — have also been reportedly named in the suit. These units simply as custodians for funds and had no links with investment decisions made by Santander or its investment funds.
Subscribe to Securities Docket by Email
[...] firm. Typically the auditor of the feeder fund is named. In the Optimal case, the auditor is PwC Ireland. However, PwC International - because of its role as an umbrella coordinating organization of the [...]