TWO former senior employees of UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) were charged on Wednesday for allegedly lying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in relation to reports on a then Catalist aspirant. Lan Kang Ming, 38, and Wee Toon Lee, 34, each face three charges of providing MAS with false information in October 2018 in relation to due diligence reports on an unidentified company applying to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. MAS said in a media statement on Wednesday that it was performing an onsite inspection of UOBKH between June and August 2018, to assess the latter's controls, policies and procedures in relation to its role as an issue manager for Initial Public Offering (IPOs). During the examination, Lan and Wee were said to have provided different versions of a due diligence report relating to background checks on a company applying to be listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. UOBKH had acted as the issue manager
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Reuters in New York
21 June 2012
The Chinese arms of all of the Big Four audit firms have been asked by US regulators to turn over documents related to audits of China-based companies listed in the United States, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already filed an enforcement action against Deloitte’s Shanghai arm seeking documents, but has not yet taken public enforcement action against the Chinese units of the other Big Four firms - Ernst & Young, PwC and KPMG - over Chinese audit papers.
One legal expert said that now that the other firms had received formal requests for documents, it could be a matter of time before they were in the same position as Deloitte.
“If they don’t produce the documents upon request, then it’s possible that the SEC could take adverse action the way they already have done in the case of Deloitte Shanghai,” William Currier, a partner with law firm White & Case, said.
On May 9, the SEC charged Deloitte’s Shanghai arm with violating US securities laws by refusing to produce documents from an audit of an unnamed China-based company. The SEC said sanctions could include censure or revoking the firm’s ability to practise before the commission.
PwC confirmed that it received requests for documents. It did not say when the SEC asked for documents but said “at various times” it received formal and informal SEC requests for audit papers from China.
“Like other firms who have received similar requests, in dealing with them we are confronted by conflicting laws between the United States and China,” PwC said.
KPMG declined to comment and Ernst & Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment. US authorities are increasingly impatient with their Chinese counterparts about not being allowed to inspect auditors of US-listed Chinese companies and a lack of co-operation in their investigations into alleged accountancy fraud.
Lewis Ferguson, a board member of the US accountancy regulator, has called for “real progress towards a co-operative oversight agreement with regulators during … this year”.