China Weighs Record Fine for PwC Over Evergrande Audit Work
- PwC may need to suspend offices as part of penalties
- China authorities have vowed to crack down on financial crime
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China is poised to impose a record fine on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and suspend some of the global auditor’s local operations over its role in one of the nation’s biggest alleged financial fraud cases, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Ministry of Finance may announce the penalties on PwC as soon as this week over its auditing work for China Evergrande Group, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. PwC faces a fine of at least 1 billion yuan ($138 million), the people said. That would exceed the previous record fine for an accounting firm, the 212 million yuan handed out to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. in 2023.