Auditor walked out over Olympus ‘fees’

KPMG resigned as auditor of Gyrus, the UK medical firm bought by Olympus, after being unable to identify the recipient of £431 million in “advisory” fees, it has emerged.

The firm said the cash – paid to Cayman Islands-registered Axam and US-based Axes – was not dealt with properly under accounting rules. Ex-Olympus boss Michael Woodford last week gave the Serious Fraud Office a dossier on the deal.