Overview
- Evergrande’s liquidators, in a Hong Kong High Court hearing Monday, sought 57 billion yuan in damages, with 38 billion claimed jointly from PwC International, PwC Hong Kong and PwC’s China firm.
- PwC International’s lawyer, Richard Handyside, argued the global entity had no duty of care to Evergrande because it neither audited the developer nor communicated with it.
- Counsel for the liquidators, Adrian Beltrami, said PwC International sits at the top of the network and sets member‑firm standards, so it should answer for audit failures tied to Evergrande.
- Hong Kong regulators found serious breaches in Evergrande audits, fining PwC Hong Kong HK$300 million, restricting new listed‑client work for six months, and securing a HK$1 billion pool for minority investors, after China’s watchdog last year suspended and fined PwC’s mainland firm.
- Creditors have about $45 billion in claims but liquidators had sold roughly $255 million of assets by last August, so any recovery from auditors could meaningfully raise what investors and lenders get back.