New Delhi Group entity Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS)-BSR & Associates and former auditors from Deloitte on Wednesday said they are fully cooperating with the authorities after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) visited their premises for questioning. have been About the non-bank lender that went bankrupt in 2018.
The ED’s visit on Wednesday comes after the Supreme Court earlier this month cleared the way for the National Company Law Tribunal’s probe into the matter and clarified on provisions related to action against auditors. A person with knowledge of the developments said that the visit was nothing more than just asking for information.
A Deloitte spokeswoman said: “This routine inquiry is in relation to an ongoing matter regarding a former client and we will continue to provide our full cooperation to the authorities.”
BSR & Associates LLP (BSR) said in a statement that it was inducted as Joint Auditor of ILFS Financial Services Ltd (IFIN) in November 2017 for the financial year ended March 31, 2018.
“BSR signed the Audit Report of IFIN jointly with Deloitte Haskins & LLP for the year ended 31st March 2018. Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials visited Mumbai NESCO office in connection with inquiries related to IFIN. We have cooperated and provided all necessary assistance to the ED,” the BSR statement said.
The ED on Wednesday conducted raids against two former auditor firms of IL&FS — BSR & Associates and Deloitte Haskins & Sells — news agency PTI reported in Mumbai citing unnamed sources. Infrastructure Development and Finance Company. An email sent to the finance ministry seeking comment for the story on Wednesday remained unanswered at the time of publication.
Audit watchdog National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) had alleged in 2020 that the appointment of BSR & Associates LLP. The appointment of IFIN as statutory auditor for FY18 was illegal and void under the two auditor disqualification provisions in the Companies Act. The watchdog had also alleged in December 2019 that the statutory audit of IFIN by Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP violated the law by offering certain restricted services directly or indirectly to group entities of the audit clients. The controversies surrounding the auditor’s scope have prompted the government to initiate work on reforming the legal provisions, which is currently underway.
catch all corporate news And updates on Live Mint. download mint news app to receive daily market update & Live business News,