Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton International, along with Bank of America, have been named as defendants in two lawsuits seeking almost $1 billion for a trio of Cayman Islands companies.
According to the filings, Food Holdings Ltd., Dairy Holdings Ltd. and Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd. -- all in liquidation -- said that they suffered substantial losses related to the 2003 collapse of Parmalat and were suing the Italian dairy company's principal banker and auditors, alleging a number of financial improprieties, including fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.
The suits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Superior Court in Mecklenburg County, N.C. The lawsuits allege that Bank of America and its subsidiaries were intimately involved in the financial improprieties, and worked with Parmalat insiders to orchestrate a series of financial transactions designed to conceal Parmalat's insolvency, while generating millions of dollars in fees and interest for the bank.
The lawsuits also make allegations of negligence and fraud against the former auditors of Parmalat, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Grant Thornton.
