The Joint Disciplinary Tribunal (JDT) has dismissed complaints against Deloitte and its UK Chairman, Martin Scicluna, in connection with the firm's work for its former client, Capital Corporation Plc.
Deloitte had been accused of 'pulling its punches' when signing off the 1996 interim results for gaming club operator Capital. Specifically, Deloitte was accused of wrongly allowing its client to remove wording in the Chairman's statement that said the company's control environment was 'continuing to deteriorate'. The Tribunal quashed the complaint, saying that a member firm of good standing could 'properly come to the view' that controls were not deteriorating.
The complaint against Martin Scicluna was that he failed to ensure that a former Deloitte partner, Stephen Ives, was reported to the ICAEW, when Ives was removed from the client's account after being given a Range Rover by Capital. The Tribunal found that even if there had been a duty to report Ives in this case, it would have fallen to the then Senior Partner, not to Scicluna.
Responding to the judgement, Deloitte said: "Clearly, we are very pleased with the Tribunal's decision which concludes this matter and dismisses all complaints against the firm and Martin Scicluna."
The judgement can be read in full on the JDT website.