Carol Galley, the star witness defending Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) in the Unilever case, admitted under cross-examination that MLIM had suffered a breakdown in risk controls while managing Unilever's portfolio.

This admission confirmed what Unilever has alleged since the beginning of the trial. Unilever claims that John Richards, a senior fund manager at MLIM, failed to supervise his team's portfolios, including the Unilever portfolio.