©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seen on top of a company office in Brussels, in Diegem, Belgium, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese authorities are examining the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in China Evergrande (HK:) The group’s accounting practices after the developer was accused of a $78 billion fraud, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
No decision has been made on whether to penalize the auditor, the report said, citing sources and adding that Chinese officials are in contact with some former PwC accountants who handled the Evergrande audit.
PwC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
This week the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) fined Evergrande and Chairman Hui Ka Yan 4.2 billion yuan ($581.4 million) and 47 million yuan, respectively, for accounting and bond issuance fraud. , and barred Hui, among other senior executives, from the securities market.
Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande’s flagship onshore unit, said a CSRC investigation found it inflated revenue by 213.99 billion yuan, or half the total, in 2019. In 2020, sales were inflated by 350 billion yuan, or 78.5% of the total. The developer issued bonds based on these falsified statements.
PwC resigned as Evergrande’s auditor early last year due to disagreements over issues relating to the audit of its 2021 accounts, the developer said.
Evergrande and PwC have been investigated by Hong Kong’s regulator since 2021 over the developer’s 2020 accounts.
With $300 billion in total liabilities, the world’s most indebted developer defaulted on its offshore debt at the end of 2021.
After 18 months of unsuccessful restructuring talks with creditors, the Hong Kong High Court ordered liquidation in January.
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