Sygnia, an investment management company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with a market value of R 1.4bn (US$ 105.4m) has dropped KPMG as its external auditor following leaks revealing questionable business relations with the Gupta family.
For 15 years up to 2015, KPMG was the auditor of Linkway Trading (Pty), a company owned by the Gupta family who has allegedly used government funds to pay for the wedding of one of the family members.
Leaked emails, referred to as the Gupta Leaks, have raised questions over KPMG role as the auditor of Linkway Trading, from which cash from the state was diverted to cover the expense of a family wedding, as reported by local media Mail&Guardian.
KPMG allowed Linkway to account for the wedding as a business expense so no tax was paid on the government funding, the Mail&Guardian reported.
Earlier this year, South Africa’s audit regulator launched an investigation into KPMG audit of Linkway Trading.
