Hong Kong Court Keeps PwC International in Evergrande Liquidators’ $8.6 Billion Lawsuit

The Hong Kong High Court on Wednesday rejected an application by PwC International to be removed as a defendant from a multibillion-yuan lawsuit brought by the liquidators of China Evergrande Group over alleged financial fraud.

The ruling keeps the global network entity of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the case and clears the way for substantive proceedings. The liquidators are seeking as much as 57.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in damages from three PwC entities, in a case that adds to scrutiny of international accounting networks over alleged audit failures by local member firms.