Re Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA ((in Liquidation)) (No. 12)

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
Judgment Date23 May 1997
Date23 May 1997
CourtChancery Division

Chancery Division

In re Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA (in Liquidation) (No 11)

Fraud - investigation by liquidators- duty to co-operate

Duty to co-operate in fraud inquiry

Although the bare fact of association led to no inference of guilt, any honest person who found himself to have been involved, however innocently, in a major fraud, must be expected to co-operate with those whose duty it was to investigate the fraud.

Mr Justice Robert Walker so held in the Chancery Division on January 24, in concluding that the corporate failure of Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Overseas) Ltd and Bank of Credit and Commerce International Holdings (Luxembourg) SA, comprising the BCCI group, and the secrecy and deception attending its affairs and those of International Credit and Investment Company Ltd and International Credit and Investment Company (Overseas) Ltd, the ICIC group, together with the close involvement with Bank of America National Trust and Savings Corporation, Bank America Corporation and Bank America International Finance Corporation, the BoA group, all indicated that the court should in principle accede to an application, under section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986, by Christopher Morris, John Parry Richards and Stephen John Akers, liquidators of BCCI, for disclosure by the BoA group of 12 categories of books, correspondence and other documents relating to the affairs of the BCCI and ICIC groups.

Chancery Division

Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Overseas) Ltd (in Liquidation) and Others
and
Price Waterhouse and Others

Duty of care - accountants not auditors of complainant company - no duty owed

Accountants owed no duty of care

A firm of accountants which was neither the auditor of a complainant company, nor claimed by it to have known that it would rely on the firm's financial statements on two of its sister companies for the purpose of making loans to such companies, owed to such complainant company no legal duty of care.

Mr Justice Laddie so held in the Chancery Division on January 30, in acceding to an application by Ernst & Whinney and others to strike out part of the statement of claim in a consolidated action brought by the liquidators of BCCI (Overseas) Ltd, BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg) SA and BCCI SA against (i) Price Waterhouse and others, at the material times auditors of BCCI (Overseas) and (ii) Ernst & Whinney, at the material times...

To continue reading

Request your trial
37 cases
1 firm's commentaries

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT