Auditor Deloitte hedges its bets on conviction in Nyrstar case
- Kris Vansanten
- Feb 13, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 22
Following a period of over four years during which we have been urging the former and current commissioners of Nyrstar to take responsibility for the fraudulent 'restructuring' of Nyrstar by Trafigura, we welcome the step taken by Deloitte in this matter. The following quotations from an article by Bert Broens in De Tijd are particularly noteworthy: 'A well-placed observer points out that the move is a "serious break with the past, when all the shareholders" counterparties collectively spoke with one voice'. From a technical standpoint, Deloitte is likely already in the process of submitting a request for indemnification to prevent the statute of limitations from applying. This is in the context of the stock market regulator FSMA's determination of possible market manipulation by Nyrstar in 2018.
Concurrently, Deloitte's actions are likely to exert pressure on Nyrstar to also indemnify itself against Trafigura and other potentially liable parties. At the end of last year, the shareholders also filed a complaint against Deloitte with the Belgian Audit Oversight College.
'BDO, which took over from Deloitte at Nyrstar, was also accused at the same organisation. The future course of action at BDO remains to be seen. Deloitte is the world's largest consultancy and audit group, and in Belgium, it is the leading provider of such services. BDO is also one of the major players in this field.
It remains to be seen whether other service providers will now feel pressure to indemnify themselves against Nyrstar, its directors, management and Trafigura. In this context, it may be interesting to read the right of reply that Trafigura published in Trends Tendances Magazine in response to an opinion piece by John Dejaeger in August 2022. In that response, they refer to the advisors who endorsed the narrative of Trafigura and Nyrstar, namely Allen & Overy, Freshfields, Duff & Phelps, J.P. Morgan, Rothschild & Co, Grant Thornton UK and the financial analyst ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Weren't these the same advisors that the Antwerp Court of Appeal referred to at the end of 2022 to stop the ongoing expert investigation, referring to the reputation and ethical codes of these advisors, with the statement that these advisors would not jeopardise their reputation or violate their ethical codes by providing erroneous advice?
While a first step has been taken, more work is needed to be done. There is still (a lot of) work to be done. However, the situation is improving, which is very encouraging.
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