Claim includes amounts paid out in dividends, advisory fees and losses incurred while the contractor was trading
KPMG is being sued for up to 拢1.3bn for its role as Carillion鈥檚 auditor in the lead up to the contractor鈥檚 collapse.
In legal action launched by the Official Receiver on behalf of creditors, it is alleged KPMG failed in its duties as auditor to spot misstatements in Carillion鈥檚 accounts.
Carillion, which was the country鈥檚 second biggest contractor, went into liquidation in January 2018.
The sum of the lawsuit鈥檚 claim represents the amount Carillion paid out in dividends, advisory fees and losses incurred while the group continued to trade.
Included in the claim are dividends of around 拢210m, professional fees of about 拢31m and trading losses of more than 拢1bn.
A spokesperson for the Official Receiver said: 鈥淭he Official Receiver has taken this action in the interests of creditors who lost substantially in the liquidation. The decision is based on legal advice, which is that KPMG is answerable to Carillion鈥檚 creditors for a portion of their losses.鈥�
It is claimed that the value of major long-term construction contracts was not properly accounted for.
These jobs include the Royal Liverpool Hospital, which is still not complete, work on the first phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route road job.
In response, KPMG UK said: 鈥淲e believe this claim is without merit and we will robustly defend the case. Responsibility for the failure of Carillion lies solely with the company鈥檚 board and management, who set the strategy and ran the business.鈥�
The legal action on behalf of Carillion鈥檚 creditors is being led by Matthew Bunting of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and has been filed at the Commercial Court of England and Wales.
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