Rumours are swilling around that PricewaterhouseCoopers may lose their license to practice in Russia, after PwC were found guilty of violating professional standards while auditing Yukos, and have been fined $480,000.
PwC’s current license expires on 20th May, and a number of news agencies are suggesting that the Finance Ministry may use the ruling in order to justify not granting an extension. At the moment, though, it’s not clear whether this is just rumour-mongering, or if there is actually any substance behind the stories.
PwC themselves are pretty upbeat about the whole thing. They plan to appeal the verdict and, in a press statement, said:
“We have no reason to believe that the application for our licence prolongation will be impacted based on the resolution of the court.
“We fully expect it to be renewed in accordance with existing procedure and legislation.”
Condoleezza Rice has weighed in on behalf of the US government, pointing out to Sergei Lavrov that any move against PwC, or auditors in general, could damage the confidence of foreign investors, and even Russia’s World Trade Organisation application.
One to watch.
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