Reliance Capital says no violations as alleged by auditor PwC

The board of directors at Reliance Capital has concluded that there have been no violations as alleged by Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants LLP (PwC) under Section 143(12) of the Companies Act 2013.

On June 11, PwC had resigned saying it did not receive a satisfactory response to its queries following certain observations and transactions as part of the ongoing audit for 2018-19.

"The board noted that the alleged basis relied upon by PwC is itself grossly inadequate, and does not even point to a single specific instance of alleged fraud," it said in a statement.

PwC had duly audited the accounts for the financial year 2017-18 and also a limited review of financial results of three consecutive quarters ended December 2018 without any qualifications or raising any concerns.

The board took note of views of other joint auditors who have been with the company for the past three financial years and continue as the sole statutory auditors, confirming that there are no violations as alleged by PwC. PwC had chosen not to attend the audit committee meeting on June 12 despite being invited to do so, said the board. "PwC abruptly resigned at the unearthly hour of 4:32 am on June 11. After resigning and ceasing to be the auditor of the company, PwC filed its letter with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs later the same day."

PwC did not even share a copy of its letter with the company or even with the board's independent audit committee despite repeated requests, said the statement issued by Reliance Capital.

"The board reaffirmed to take all appropriate steps to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders," it added.