China Evergrande's liquidators are seeking 57 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) in their lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd. and its mainland China and Hong Kong affiliates, among the largest corporate claims ever sought in the city.
Of the total amount, liquidators are seeking 38 billion yuan from all three — PricewaterhouseCoopers International, the umbrella entity for the firm worldwide, and the two local affiliates, lawyers from both sides said. They're also seeking 19 billion yuan solely from the Hong Kong and mainland entities.
The case centers on PwC's auditing work for Evergrande, an emblem of China's property crisis since it defaulted in 2021. Liquidators
PwC International is looking to extricate itself from the case, which originally focused only on the affiliates, and strike out liquidators' claims against it. Even if that effort succeeds, liquidators could still pursue the case against the local entities.
A lawyer representing PwC International told the court that the firm shouldn't be involved in the case because it hadn't been asked to review the audit work on Evergrande.
Liquidators, meanwhile, argued that PwC International has a supervisory role for all of its member firms, including the Hong Kong and China affiliates, to maintain the standards and reputation of the brand.
Deputy High Court Judge Patrick Fung said he would hand down a decision in the case within three months.
PwC already faced regulatory pressure over its audits of Evergrande. Its Hong Kong entity separately agreed last month to
The proceedings are critical to liquidators' years-long
Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong of U.S. turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal, acting as liquidators for Evergrande's creditors,
PricewaterhouseCoopers International doesn't practice accountancy or provide services to clients, according to its
