Sep 11, 2018

Sports Direct told to hand documents to UK watchdog

Sports Direct, which is majority owned by billionaire Mike Ashley, has been ordered to hand over documents to the UK accountancy watchdog after a High Court judge agreed that the sportswear company's approach was "One of obfuscation and delay verging on obstruction". The FRC took Sports Direct to the High Court after the sportswear chain failed to comply with notices to hand over company documents. Mr Justice Arnold on Tuesday ordered that Sports Direct give the documents to the FRC and added that the FRC was "Entirely justified" in its criticism that Sports Direct's approach was "One of obfuscation and delay verging on obstruction". The business arrangement between Barlin and Sports Direct caused controversy after it emerged in 2016 that Barlin received a fee based on the revenue from Sports Direct's website orders that were dispatched overseas. The FRC began investigating the conduct of Grant Thornton soon after the deal was disclosed in relation to its audit of the financial accounts of Sports Direct for the year ended April 2016 after "Reports of an arrangement between Sports Direct and Barlin Delivery Limited which was not disclosed as a related party in the company's financial statements".

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