05:58 AM EDT, 03/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with PricewaterhouseCoopers response in the last paragraph.)

PricewaterhouseCoopers is under scrutiny by Chinese authorities for its role in the China Evergrande Group's $78 billion accounting fraud case, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

China's securities regulator has accused Evergrande's main subsidiary Hengda Real Estate Group of overstating its revenue in the two years through 2020, before the company's default.

As part of the investigation into Evergrande, Chinese officials have reached out to some former PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants who handled Evergrande's audit, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

No decision has been made on whether to punish the privately held accounting firm, the report said.

In an emailed response to MT Newswires' request, PricewaterhouseCoopers declined to comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)