The US Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has asked a federal judge to temporarily halt proceedings to
obtain Deloitte China’s audit documents.

The SEC said it is hoping to settle the
dispute through an agreement with the Chinese regulators
instead.

The SEC charged Deloitte’s Chinese member firm
with ‘wilfully’ violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 by failing to provide audit work papers in
May.

Deloitte China is prevented by Chinese law
from handing over the paperwork of a Chinese company to a foreign
regulator.

The SEC launched administrative action against
the firm after several unsuccessful attempts to obtain documents
believed to be related to the audit of Longtop Financial
Services.