U2's Adam Clayton Sues Band's Financial Manager for 'Negligence'

It seems U2 can't catch a break. After the forced postponement of the band's tour due to Bono's back surgery, the Daily Mail reports that bassist Adam Clayton is suing the band's financial controller for alleged negligence. Gaby Smyth, who controls the band's money and knows the intricacies of the group's investments and holdings, and two other accountants in his firm are named in papers filed in Dublin's High Court.

According to the paper, the case may have its roots in money management issues that surfaced during Clayton's recent High Court case against Carol Hawkins, the bassist's former housekeeper, who allegedly defrauded him of up to €1.8million.

"It would be unwise to assume that this case relates to the case against his housekeeper, but that's not to say it has nothing to do with her," a source close to Clayton told the paper. In advance of his case against Hawkins -- who supposedly used the money to go on a spending spree, which included the 2007 purchase of a $465,000 New York apartment among other luxuries -- U2's bassist hired auditing firm KPMG to review his finances.

The newspaper suggests that the legal war just might rip the biggest band in the world apart, as the notion of the bassist taking on Smyth in court threatens to expose every financial detail of the band and its related companies.

Smyth was responsible for moving the band's publishing company to Holland in 2007 in a move that save the band millions on royalties it would have otherwise paid under Irish tax law. That decision in Ireland led to heavy criticism of Bono, who took earnings out of his homeland while encouraging the country to aid in anti-poverty initiatives.