Hong Kong regulators have hit PwC with a combined HK$1.3bn ($166mn) fine and a six-month ban following an investigation into the accounting firm's work for collapsed property developer Evergrande. The Securities and Futures Commission said Thursday that the Big Four firm committed "serious breaches of auditors' professional duties" during its 2019 and 2020 audits.

The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council separately barred PwC from taking on new clients for six months, calling the accounting failures "egregious." Two former PwC partners were fined HK$10mn total. PwC's Hong Kong business will set aside HK$1bn to compensate Evergrande's minority shareholders. Evergrande's 2021 default alerted the world to China's property sector crisis and roiled an economy where household wealth is heavily concentrated in real estate.

Beijing regulators ruled in 2024 that PwC's mainland business "concealed or even condoned" fraud at Evergrande in the years leading up to its collapse. The Hong Kong action adds to the financial fallout for the Big Four firm. PwC China acknowledged its work on the Evergrande audits "fell well below our high expectations and the expectations of our stakeholders."