China Evergrande’s liquidators filed a lawsuit in March 2024 against PwC International and its Hong Kong and mainland China affiliates, seeking 57 billion yuan (US$8.4 billion) over alleged negligence and misrepresentation in auditing Evergrande’s finances [1, 2, 3]. The claim is one of the largest corporate claims ever lodged in Hong Kong [1, 4].
Liquidators Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong from Alvarez & Marsal are jointly seeking 38 billion yuan from PwC International and its two local affiliates, plus another 19 billion yuan from the Hong Kong and mainland China entities alone [1, 3]. The lawsuit focuses on PwC’s audits and unqualified audit opinions on Evergrande’s 2017 and first half of 2018 financial statements [2, 3].
PwC International is attempting to be removed from the case, arguing it only coordinated the global PwC network and did not directly audit or approve Evergrande’s accounts. PwC lawyers said, "Holding the global entity liable for the conduct of local member firms would effectively make it responsible for every single audit carried out by every single PwC firm worldwide, which would not be fair" [4, 2]. However, liquidators insist PwC International shares responsibility along with the local affiliates [1, 3].
Hong Kong regulators have taken strong action against PwC Hong Kong. The Securities and Futures Commission and the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council ordered PwC Hong Kong to pay HK$1 billion to Evergrande minority shareholders and fined the firm HK$300 million plus a six-month practice restriction in April 2026 [5]. Former partners involved in the audits were fined a combined HK$10 million [5]. Earlier that month, PwC Hong Kong agreed to pay HK$1.3 billion in fines and compensation related to its audit work on Evergrande [1, 2, 3].
The AFRC found serious audit deficiencies in PwC’s work on Evergrande’s 2019 and 2020 accounts, contributing to the penalties [5]. Evergrande’s debt burden is estimated at HK$350 billion, with asset recoveries totaling about US$255 million so far [1, 2, 3].
On May 18, 2026, the Hong Kong High Court held the opening hearing on the liquidators' lawsuit against PwC [5, 4, 2]. The case is expected to proceed through further court stages.
