Concerns over Indian firm's feasibility study on Lankan project

COLOMBO (News1st): An issue has arisen over a feasibility study conducted by an Indian company on a project to develop Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure for power generation in Sri Lanka. Reports showed that the Asian Development Bank had handed over the feasibility study to PwC India and that their consultants did not hold the necessary qualifications. According to reports, PwC India is not an LNG Terminal or Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) design consultancy firm. Meanwhile, Indian media reported that India’s securities regulator has banned PwC India from auditing listed companies in the country for two years in 2018, after it failed to spot a $1.7bn fraud at a company. Media reports noted that PwC’s Indian audit unit — had neglected to check “glaring anomalies” in the financial details reported by a company, whose downfall followed one of the worst financial scandals in Indian corporate history.