ED slaps Rs 230 cr fine on PwC for FEMA violations

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) adjudicating authority slapped a Rs 230.40 crore penalty for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation on global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and six others, officials said on Monday. The ED's Special Director (Eastern Region), which is the adjudicating authority, slapped the fine. It held the company guilty of violation of section 10(6), 6(2), 6(3) and 9(b) of the FEMA, 1999 for receiving investments in the guise of purported grants in non-permitted sector without the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) approval. The ED last week had slapped a show-cause penalty notice on the firm and others under the FEMA.

It's alleged the firm was rendering financial services, including financial forensics, financial risk consultancy, management consultancy, deals and transactions and taxation matters, in which foreign investment is not permitted without the RBI approval. As per the allegation, the PwC along with others, including PwC chairman Shyamal Mukherjee, Director Satyavati Behera, ex-chairmen Deepak Kapoor and Ramesh Ranjan, former executive director Ambrish Dasgupta and former employee of the company Shivam Dubey, received investments from PwC Services BV by falsely showing them as grants to avoid the FEMA provisions.

They can appeal the order within 45 days from its issue. (IANS)

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