South Africa’s Nedbank Becomes Latest Firm to Drop KPMG

JOHANNESBURG – South African lender Nedbank said on Monday it would appoint Ernst & Young as joint external auditors in May 2019, becoming the latest firm to drop the scandal-hit KPMG’s local unit.

The auditor’s South African unit has been under close scrutiny since 2017 over work done for a company owned by the Gupta brothers – who have been accused of using their links to former president Jacob Zuma to influence government decisions and the awarding of tenders – and more recently for small lender VBS Mutual Bank. The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.

KPMG sacked its South African leadership in September last year after it found work done for the firm owned by the Guptas “fell considerably short” of its standards.

KPMG could not immediately comment on Nedbank’s decision when reached by Reuters on Monday.

More than 10 clients across various sectors have severed ties with KPMG since last year, including South Africa’s auditor general, Barclays Africa and miner Sibanye Stillwater.

In June, KPMG said it would lay off 400 staff and close small regional offices in response to losing the clients.

A central bank investigation published this month said South Africa should seek damages from global auditor KPMG for the role it played in a corruption scandal that saw at least R1.9 billion ($131 million) stolen from local bank VBS.

(Reporting by Patricia Aruo; Editing by James Macharia)