German MPs fail in bid to publish ‘dynamite’ report on EY’s Wirecard audits
Germany’s highest court has rejected an attempt by MPs to force the publication of an unredacted report into EY’s audits of Wirecard, according to reports.
The lawsuit was filed by MPs who had investigated the Wirecard fraud, one of the biggest corporate scandals, according to the Financial Times.
The Federal High Court of Justice has been asked, by the parliamentary committee that scrutinized the failure of Wirecard, whether a full version of a commissioned report into EY’s audits could be published.
The report, written by Martin Wambach, a partner at accounting firm Rödl & Partner, referred to over 150 internal EY documents which were submitted to the committee but was judged to be classified under German law.
The publication of the full unredacted report was important for shareholders trying to sue EY for damages over Wirecard, MPs argued while EY said that the release of the full report and accompanying documents would put its business secrets at risk and infringe the rights of its employees.
The lawsuit was rejected by the court on the formal grounds that the parliamentary committee can no longer pursue lawsuits since it had dissolved itself, according to reports.
The decision was made last week but first reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday.