Rel Cap joint auditors say no Companies Act breach; reject PWC allegations

Reliance Capital on Thursday said its joint auditors have confirmed that there are "no violations" as alleged by the firm's previous auditor Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants LLP (PWC). The board of directors of Reliance Capital on August 8 held special meeting to review the matters arising out of the letter filed by PWC with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), under Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013.

"The board took note of the views of the other joint auditors, who have been auditors of the company for the last 3 financial years and continue as the sole statutory auditors of the company, confirming that there are no violations as alleged by PWC under Section 143 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013," Reliance Capital said in a BSE filing. The board said that PWC had duly audited the accounts for financial year 2017–2018, as also limited review of financial results of three consecutive quarters ended December 2018, without any qualifications or raising any concerns.

The filing further said the board also took note of the views of legal experts who independently carried out an in-depth examination of the matter and the issues raised by PWC. "The board noted the independent legal opinion from reputed law firm confirming that there was no violation attracting Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, and which concluded that the PWC letter is devoid of any rationale or basis and is invalid," it said.

PWC had resigned as statutory auditor of the company on June 11, 2019. The company said the alleged basis relied upon by PWC for reporting under Section 143(12) is itself grossly inadequate, and does not even point to a single specific instance of alleged fraud.

Reliance Capital had earlier said its erstwhile statutory auditor Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants' observations about its accounts were "completely baseless and unjustified".

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