International oil firm, Shell is facing a class action brought by US investors which accuses the group of deliberately overstating its oil and gas reserves in order to mislead the market.
Earlier this month, at an analyst briefing, Shell announced that it had conducted an extensive review of its world-wide reserve base, as a result of which it would be cutting its estimate by 3.9 billion barrels, or 20%.
Given the size of the cuts announced (which sent share values in Shell operations such as Shell Transport and Trading and Royal Dutch plummeting), analysts have suggested that the overstatement is unlikely to have been accidental.
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, the law firm representing the aggrieved investors has gone further, suggesting that the reserve levels were "knowingly overstated to preserve the companies' credit ratings and to shore up their competitive position".
The case is expected to go before the New Jersey District Court in around 6 months.
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