ED Probes India Offices Of Deloitte, KPMG Associate

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a search at the India offices of accounting firms Deloitte and KPMG. The search is said to be in relation to an ongoing money-laundering investigation into IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN).

What Happened: The ED inspected the Mumbai offices of Deloitte Haskins & Sells (DHS), the Indian arm of Deloitte, and BSR & Co, an associate firm of KPMG, Economic Times reported. Both firms had served as auditors to the crisis-hit IL&FS, a state-funded infrastructure development and finance company that filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after having accumulated a debt burden of around ₹91,000 crore.

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“The officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) visited at Mumbai NESCO office in relation to inquiry pertaining to IFIN. We have co-operated and provided all necessary support to ED,” a KPMG spokesperson said, confirming that the searches were related to IFIN.

The ED’s search of the auditors’ premises comes days after the government tweaked the country’s money laundering law to bring chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cost-and-work accountants under its scope.

“There are certain audit irregularities that have been found in the books of IFIN and this requires clear explanation from the auditors. Searches were conducted as a part of the investigation into the case to ascertain their roles,” an official in the know about the investigation told Economic Times.

It had previously been reported that the government had considered banning DHS over serious accounting lapses in the IL&FS case.

Deloitte did not immediately respond to queries.

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Editor’s Note: This Story Has Been Updated To Include Official Comments From KPMG