Cyprus Wing of Auditing Giant PwC May Have Breached Sanctions in Work for Oligarch

In 2022, the Cyprus branch of PwC conducted auditing work for Lanberry Ltd, a company connected to Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, who is under EU sanctions. Internal emails show that PwC staff warned about the risk of breaching sanctions and recommended rejecting the job due to compliance issues. Despite this, the audit proceeded and PwC issued an unqualified opinion on Lanberry’s financial statements, potentially violating sanctions which prohibit business with the oligarch's firms. The company's ultimate beneficiary is Arkady Rotenberg, a close Putin ally sanctioned after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. PwC Cyprus faces scrutiny for this oversight, raising concerns about auditing practices and sanctions enforcement. The article includes internal email excerpts and an official with PwC discussing the audit's risky nature. The investigation highlights how major audit firms may inadvertently facilitate sanctions evasion.