- Rihan v Ernst & Young Global Ltd & Ors: an important development in the law applicable to firms offering professional services overseas.
In December 2020 the global professional services firm, EY, withdrew its appeal in a case brought against various London-based EY entities by whistleblower and former EY partner, Amjad Rihan (Rihan v Ernst & Young Global Ltd and others [2020] EWHC 901 (QB), [2020] All ER (D) 105 (Apr)).
The case concerned allegations that EY had covered up the adverse findings of a sustainability audit into the Dubai Gold trade, including evidence of money laundering and conflict minerals, causing the partner in charge of the audit, Mr Rihan, to resign. After a trial, Mr Justice Kerr ruled in April 2020 in favour of Mr Rihan and awarded him substantial compensation. In doing so the court found that senior EY global executives had consistently acted in breach of the relevant professional and ethical standards when dealing with Mr Rihan’s concerns.
The
