Quinn Emanuel has secured a landmark victory before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court for one of our clients against big four audit company Ernst & Young in connection with the disclosure of audit documents related to the Zeromax collapse – one of the largest bankruptcies in Swiss history.
The Zeromax conglomerate, once controlled by Gulnara Karimova (daughter of Uzbekistan's former president), collapsed in 2010 leaving USD 7 billion in unresolved claims. International creditors remain unpaid whilst billions in assets cannot be traced. In its ruling, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court explicitly held that statutory auditors must provide comprehensive accountability on their work as an auditor. This decision establishes unprecedented accountability standards for statutory auditors in Switzerland, departing from previous Swiss jurisprudence where such accountability could be resisted.
Quinn Emanuel Switzerland successfully represented the creditors, with the team of Thomas Werlen, Simon Vorburger, and Duygu Akdag securing this landmark decision.