Evergrande liquidators file $8.4bn negligence claim against PwC

Liquidators of China Evergrande Group person filed a suit successful a Hong Kong tribunal against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) seeking 57bn yuan ($8.4bn) successful damages for alleged negligent audit work.

The claim, brought by liquidators Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong of Alvarez & Marsal, was made against PwC International, PwC Hong Kong and PwC China.

PwC International’s imaginable maximum liability is enactment astatine 38bn yuan.

Any payout would beryllium successful summation to fines already imposed connected PwC aft Evergrande’s collapse, which near much than $300bn (2.04tn yuan) successful liabilities.

The latest tribunal proceeding focused connected however acold PwC International, arsenic the planetary coordinating entity, tin beryllium held responsible, according to a Reuters report.

PwC International’s lawyer argued it should not beryllium a defendant, saying the PwC web is made up of abstracted companies, with the Hong Kong and China practices not subsidiaries of PwC International.

The lawyer said determination were nary dealings betwixt PwC International and Evergrande and that it had nary "duty of care" regarding the audits.

Counsel for the liquidators argued that PwC International sits astatine the apical of the web and is liable for maintaining standards crossed subordinate companies.

The Deputy High Court Judge astatine the tribunal said helium expects to contented a ruling wrong 3 months.

Evergrande defaulted connected offshore indebtedness payments successful precocious 2021 and was ordered into liquidation by the Hong Kong High Court successful 2024.

PwC’s Chinese limb received a six‑month suspension and a grounds 441m yuan good from Chinese regulators successful 2024 implicit its Evergrande work.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission recovered that accounting entity PwC Zhong Tian "turned a unsighted eye" and "even condoned" Evergrande’s lapses.

Hong Kong authorities separately ruled that PwC Hong Kong had earnestly breached nonrecreational duties successful its Evergrande audits.

Last month, the institution was fined HK$300m ($38.3m) and suspended for six months for the failures.

Creditor claims against Evergrande full astir $45bn, portion lone astir $255m successful assets had been realised done income arsenic of August past year, the quality bureau added, citing the liquidators.

"Evergrande liquidators record $8.4bn negligence assertion against PwC" was primitively created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand.

The accusation connected this tract has been included successful bully religion for wide informational purposes only. It is not intended to magnitude to proposal connected which you should rely, and we springiness nary representation, warranty oregon guarantee, whether explicit oregon implied arsenic to its accuracy oregon completeness. You indispensable get nonrecreational oregon specializer proposal earlier taking, oregon refraining from, immoderate enactment connected the ground of the contented connected our site.