Ex McKinsey Partner Sues Firm For “Scapegoating” Him During Opioid Probe

India-West News Desk
NEW YORK, NY – Arnab Ghatak, an Indian American former partner at McKinsey & Co, has filed a lawsuit against the consulting firm, alleging defamation and claiming he was made a “scapegoat” to divert attention from its work with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other opioid pain medication manufacturers.

Ghatak, who was dismissed from McKinsey in 2021, lodged the suit in New York state court on April 29, just two days after reports surfaced of the US Justice Department probing McKinsey’s involvement in the US opioid epidemic.

Part of the Justice Department’s investigation revolves around whether McKinsey obstructed justice, which includes inquiries into the firm’s disclosure that it had terminated two partners for communicating about deleting documents related to their work on opioids, according to sources familiar with the matter as reported by the New York Post. Ghatak was one of those partners, having previously served as a senior partner and McKinsey’s global head of medical affairs.

In addition to the defamation claim, Ghatak alleged that McKinsey and its global managing partner, Bob Sternfels, provided false information to Congress and the public regarding his involvement in the improper deletion of emails. Ghatak stated in his lawsuit that when Sternfels testified before a House of Representatives committee in 2022, both partners were terminated for violating a document retention policy that Ghatak asserts does not exist.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from McKinsey and Sternfels, both named as defendants.

A spokesperson for McKinsey dismissed the complaint as “entirely meritless,” asserting that Ghatak was terminated for serious violations of the firm’s professional standards. The spokesperson reiterated McKinsey’s commitment to its decision to dismiss Ghatak and to its public statements regarding the matter.

McKinsey has already reached a nearly $1 billion settlement in response to extensive opioid-related lawsuits and other legal actions brought by states, local governments, school districts, Native American tribes, and health insurers, accusing the firm of contributing to the deadly US opioid addiction epidemic.