EY hit with suit over NMC audit negligence
Claim relates to work carried out by EY from 2012-18
Dubai: Administrators for NMC Health sued Ernst & Young in the UK over claims of negligent auditing spanning six years, escalating an intense battle over the hospital operator’s collapse.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, relates to work that EY carried out between 2012 and 2018, according to a spokesperson for the joint administrators, Alvarez and Marsal.
“The issues that we found at NMC Healthcare following our appointment were broad, complex and multi layered,” they said. “As administrators, we have an obligation to maximize returns for creditors and this action is part of those wider efforts.”
Sky News earlier reported the case saying that the health care firm is seeking 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion). The suit doesn’t yet contain a public document laying out the details of the claim.
It follows a US court suit over the quality of EY’s auditing work. NMC Health’s founder, BR Shetty, sued the Big Four accountant in New York last year and accused the accounting giant of ‘actively’ concealing a six-year fraud from investors and turned a blind eye to thousands of suspicious transactions.
NMC Health was put into administration in 2020 following allegations of fraud at the health care provider. Shetty is himself facing a number of legal battles.
A spokesperson for EY said they were aware of the UK suit and will defend the claim vigorously. NMC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.