site.btaKPMG Bulgaria Fined over Failed Corpbank

105 - ECONOMY - BANK - FAILURE - KPMG - FINE

KPMG Bulgaria Fined
over Failed
Corpbank


Sofia, January 9 (BTA) - KPMG Bulgaria and two of its auditors
face the maximum possible fine over their role as auditor of the
failed Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), the chair of the
Commission for Public Oversight of Certified Auditors, Vanya
Doneva, told BTA on Thursday. The Commission will issue penal
decrees for serious omissions in the audit for each of the five
years during which KPMG has worked with Corpbank, each of 20,000
leva.

Corpbank suspended all operations on June 21, 2014 after a run
by depositors left it illiquid. After over five months of
central bank conservatorship, in November it was found to be
3,745,313,000 leva in the red and had its licence revoked. It is
now in the middle of a bankruptcy procedure.

KPMG Bulgaria was Corpbank's auditor from 2009 to 2013
inclusive.

Two KPMG auditors will be fined individuallly, one for the two
years he has been Corpbank's auditor and the other for three
years. They will be fined the maximum amount provided for by
law, which is 20,000 leva.

The amount of the fine is decided by the Commission chairperson.


Doneva said that a majority in the Commission has voted in
favour of suspending KPMG Bulgaria and the two offending
auditors. "I believe that the auditors have allowed significant
omissions in their work and have caused considerable damage both
to the profession and to society," she commented. She hinted
that there have been threats for the independence and
objectivity of the auditor.

The Commission voted on Thursday to determine the type of
administrative punishment - fine or temporary suspension. The
law requires a secret vote and a decision for suspension is made
when four ot of the five Commission member support it. In the
Thursday vote, three of the members voted in favour of
suspension and two against. LY/LN/