World
China hands PwC a 6-month ban and fine over audit of the collapsed developer Evergrande
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese authorities have banned the accounting firm PwC for six months and fined it over 400 million yuan ($56.4 million) over its involvement in the audit of collapsed property developer Evergrande.
The punishment is the heaviest yet for international accounting firms operating in China. PwC will be banned from signing off on any financial results in the country for six months. Already, it has been losing clients.
China’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement Friday that it was imposing 116 million yuan ($16.35 million) in fines and confiscation of illegal gains on PwC Zhong Tian, also known as PwC China, as well as a six-month business suspension, revocation of PwC’s Guangzhou branch and an administrative warning.
A separate regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, also imposed fines and confiscations totaling 325 million yuan ($45.8 million) on PwC for allegedly failing to perform due diligence in the audit of Evergrande.
China’s finance ministry said PwC issued “false audit reports” of Evergrande and that the audit procedures had “serious defects” in design and implementation, leading to many false conclusions. It also accused PwC of not maintaining “professional skepticism” and failing to point out errors and a lack of information disclosure by Evergrande during the audits.
The securities regulator said 88% of the records kept by PwC regarding the real estate projects were inconsistent with the actual implementation and were “seriously unreliable.” When on-site investigations were carried out, some projects were still “a piece of vacant land” despite being considered to have met the delivery conditions, the regulator said.
“The work performed by PwC Zhong Tian’s Hengda audit team fell well below our high expectations and was completely unacceptable,” Mohamed Kande, global chair of PwC, said in a statement on its website. Hengda is the principal subsidiary of China Evergrande Group.
“It is not representative of what we stand for as a network and there is no room for this at PwC,” he said.
The statement said PwC Zhong Tian has cooperated fully with regulators, respects their decisions and will fully comply with the administrative penalties.
PwC China has fired six partners and five staff directly involved in the Hengda audit, it said. The firm is also in the process of issuing financial penalties for current and former firm leaders who were responsible for the business, the statement said.
PwC came under Beijing’s scrutiny after the January collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted developer and a symbol of China’s ongoing property crisis.
China’s securities regulator said in March that Evergrande had inflated its mainland China revenues by almost $80 billion in 2019 and 2020. In May, authorities fined the company $577 million.
PwC had audited Evergrande’s accounts for 14 years until 2023 and gave it a clean bill of health.
PwC has been the largest of the “big four” accounting firms operating in China, taking in nearly 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in revenues in 2022, above competitors Deloitte, KPMG and EY, according to the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
China has been cracking down on excessive borrowing by developers during a prolonged property market slump that has hit many other parts of the economy, including construction, building materials and home appliances.
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Mistreanu reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
US retreat from climate commitments under the Trump administration will have “significant consequences” for the planet, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told Euronews at The Europe Conversation. His comments came after the EU unveiled its roadmap to cut polluting emissions by 90% by 2040
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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House on Monday evening to cement a shared message: the U.S.-Israel alliance has reshaped the Middle East – and more is coming.
“We had tremendous success together,” Trump said during the public portion of their dinner meeting. “And I think it will only go on to be even greater success in the future.”
Netanyahu handed Trump a formal letter he sent to the Nobel Peace Prize committee. “It’s well-deserved,” the prime minister said. “You’re forging peace as we speak, in one country and one region after the other.”
NETANYAHU SURPRISES TRUMP WITH FORMAL NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINATION DURING HISTORIC WHITE HOUSE MEETING
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hands President Donald Trump a folder during a meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump appeared surprised. “Thank you very much,” he replied. “Coming from you in particular, this is very meaningful.”
But behind the symbolism was a serious discussion about Iran, Gaza and what both sides see as an inflection point in regional diplomacy. Trump confirmed that Iran has requested new talks following the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on its nuclear and missile infrastructure. “They want to meet. They want to work something out,” he said. “They’re very different now than they were two weeks ago.”
Netanyahu called the military operation “a historic victory,” adding that it “set back the two tumors that were threatening the life of Israel – the nuclear tumor and the ballistic missile tumor.” But, he warned, “just like a tumor, it can grow back… You have to constantly monitor the situation to make sure that there’s no attempt to bring it back.”
Michael Makovsky, CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital that one key goal of the meeting was to define red lines for future action.
“The war with Iran was ended a little abruptly by Trump,” Makovsky said. “The Israelis wanted to continue it a couple more days, or at least until there was an understanding with the U.S. about what would trigger another response.”
President Donald Trump meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuat the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
NETANYAHU AND TRUMP TO MEET IN DC AS GAZA’S FATE WITHOUT HAMAS IS DEBATED
According to a new JINSA memo titled Not Over, those triggers could include Iran rebuilding air defenses, diverting enriched uranium or importing advanced missile technology. “We’ve always viewed military action as a campaign, not a one-off,” Makovsky said. “Unfortunately, short of regime collapse in Tehran, this is going to be part of a series.”
Trump, however, emphasized his peacemaking ambitions. “I’m stopping wars,” he said.
He said the Iran strike “turned out… to be obliterated,” and praised the pilots involved: “They flew for 37 hours with zero problem mechanically. The biggest bombs we’ve ever dropped – non-nuclear. And we want to keep it non-nuclear, by the way.”
Smoke rises from the building of Iran’s state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)
Turning to Gaza, Trump said he believes a ceasefire deal may be reached soon. “They want that ceasefire,” he said, in reference to Hamas. Netanyahu echoed that desire, but reiterated that “certain powers, like overall security, will always remain in our hands. No one in Israel will agree to anything else. We don’t commit suicide. We cherish life.”
When asked whether his Palestinian relocation plan was still on the table, Trump initially deferred to Netanyahu, who responded by praising what he called “a brilliant vision.”
“It’s called free choice,” Netanyahu said. “If people want to stay, they can stay. But if they want to leave, they should be able to leave.”
Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee their homes, after Israeli airstrikes, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 16, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
He added that Israel is working closely with the United States to find countries willing to help realize this approach. “We’re getting close to finding several countries,” Netanyahu said. “And I think this will give, again, the freedom to choose. Palestinians should have it. And I hope that we can secure it.”
Makovsky said Trump now sees Gaza and Iran as sequential “episodes.” “He sees the war with Iran as a successful episode – it’s time to end that and pivot to peace,” he said. “He wants to move toward expanding the Abraham Accords, particularly with Saudi Arabia.”
The two leaders also touched on Syria. “I think there’s an opportunity to explore,” Netanyahu said, referencing recent shifts after the collapse of the Assad regime. Makovsky said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa may be seeking “some sort of arrangement” with Israel to gain U.S. support. “He’s incredibly flexible and practical,” Makovsky noted.
President Donald Trump meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters)
As Netanyahu put it, “This has already changed the face of the Middle East.” Trump added, “We’re on the way to a lot of great results.”
On Tuesday Netanyahu will meet with the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, R-La.
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