Evergrande Liquidators Pursue Claims Against PwC Over Auditing Issues

The one-day hearing was scheduled before Deputy Judge Patrick Fung Pak-tung of the High Court and would be open to the public, the court information showed. It concerns efforts by Evergrande’s liquidators to seek claims from PwC International over the developer’s auditing issues.

It marks the latest development in the Evergrande saga. Last month, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) reached an agreement with PwC Hong Kong to pay HK$1 billion (US$128 million) in compensation to minority shareholders of the developer, citing serious breaches of auditors’ professional duties.

Separately, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) fined PwC HK$300 million and imposed a six-month practice restriction, while two former partners were fined HK$10 million in total over the Evergrande audits, the regulator said in April.

The AFRC found “numerous serious audit deficiencies” in PwC’s work on Evergrande’s 2019 and 2020 accounts.

Alongside the fine, the accounting watchdog barred PwC from accepting new listed-company audit clients for six months. Former partners Cheung Siu-cheong and Chow Sai-keung, who oversaw quality control on the audits, were each fined HK$5 million.