Chinese authorities have slapped 441 million yuan ($62.1 million) in penalties and imposed a six-month business suspension on PwC's auditing unit in the country, after the entity was found to have "covered up and even condoned" fraud at Evergrande Real Estate Group.
中国证监会、财政部就普华永道中国审计部门“掩盖甚至纵容”恒大地产财务造假的违法行为，处以罚款4.41亿元人民币（合6,210万美元），并暂停经营业务6个月。
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Friday that PwC Zhong Tian LLP had failed to exercise due diligence in its audit of Evergrande Real Estate Group, the flagship subsidiary of Evergrande Group.
13日，中国证监会表示，普华永道中天会计师事务所在对中国恒大集团旗舰子公司恒大地产集团有限公司进行审计时未勤勉尽责。
In May, the CSRC had fined the troubled real estate developer some 4.18 billion yuan for fraudulent bond issuances and false statements.
今年5月，中国证监会因其欺诈发行公司债券和虚假记载行为，对陷入困境的恒大地产处以约41.8亿元的罚款。
Based on China's Securities Law, the commission confiscated the auditing unit's revenue involved in the Evergrande case of 27.74 million yuan and fined it 297 million yuan — totaling about 325 million yuan, which, according to the commission, was a "record-breaking" punishment against auditing firms.
依据《中华人民共和国证券法》，中国证监会没收普华永道涉恒大地产案收入2774万元，罚款2.97亿元，总计约3.25亿元。中国证监会称，这是针对审计公司的“创纪录”处罚。
The Ministry of Finance also said on Friday that, in accordance with the law of certified accountants, it had decided to impose a six-month business suspension on PwC Zhong Tian and fined it 116 million yuan, while closing down its Guangzhou office.
13日，财政部也表示，依据《中华人民共和国注册会计师法》，决定对普华永道中天处以1.16亿元罚款，暂停经营业务6个月，同时撤销普华永道广州分所。
CSRC and the Finance Ministry have examined PwC's role in the Evergrande fraud, in which the developer was found to have engaged in five fraudulent bond issuances based on false statements in the annual reports of 2019 and 2020.
中国证监会和财政部已对普华永道在恒大地产欺诈案中扮演的角色进行了审查，发现恒大地产2019年、2020年的年报存在虚假记载，相关5次公司债券发行构成欺诈发行。
CSRC said PwC Zhong Tian had violated multiple audit standards with inaccurate working papers and ineffective on-site inspections, failed to detect Evergrande's fraud and issued unqualified audit reports.
中国证监会称，普华永道中天违反多项审计准则，审计工作底稿失真，现场走访程序失效，未能发现恒大地产的欺诈行为，并出具了标准无保留意见审计报告。
"PwC's actions were not merely simple audit negligence or failure. To some extent, it covered up and even condoned Evergrande Real Estate's financial fraud and fraudulent bond issuances.
“普华永道上述行为，不只是简单的审计失职、失效行为，它在一定程度上掩盖甚至纵容了恒大地产财务造假和欺诈发行公司债券。”
"The actions severely eroded the foundation of law and integrity, significantly harmed the legitimate rights and interests of investors, seriously undermined market confidence and should be severely punished according to the law," said CSRC.
对此，中国证监会表示：“这些行为严重侵蚀法律和诚信基础，严重损害投资者合法权益，严重破坏市场信心，依法应予严惩。”
Citing the case, the Finance Ministry said it will continue to enhance supervision and inspection.
财政部援引该案例表示，将继续加强监督和检查。
"For any discovered cases of accounting and auditing fraud, we will investigate and punish them severely to ensure that regulation has 'teeth and thorns'."
“对于发现的任何会计审计造假案件，我们都将严厉查处，确保监管‘长牙带刺’”。
PwC issued a statement on its global website to say that PwC Zhong Tian's work in Evergrande's case fell unacceptably below expected standards. It said it respects the regulators' decisions and that it would fully comply with the administrative penalties.
普华永道在其全球网站上发表声明称，普华永道中天对恒大地产的审计工作严重低于预期标准，令人无法接受。普华永道尊重监管机构的决定，并将全力遵守行政处罚。
Dai Guanchun, a senior capital markets lawyer, said the punishments indicate that Chinese regulators are intensifying their crackdown on violations by capital market intermediary institutions according to law.
资本市场资深律师戴冠春表示，这些处罚表明中国监管机构正在依法加强对资本市场中介机构违法违规行为的打击力度。
The case could help deter other institutions from misbehavior as it would result in not only financial losses but reputational damage to PwC's China business, Dai added.
戴冠春补充道，此案有助于遏制其他机构的不当行为，因为这不仅会给普华永道的中国业务带来经济损失，还会造成声誉受损。