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PwC International must face trial of Evergrande scandals claims: Hong Kong High Court

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Enoch YiuPublished: 6:44pm, 26 Aug 2026

The liquidators of collapsed developer China Evergrande Group have won a legal victory against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) International, indicating that the firm and two other units of the accounting giant would need to jointly face the largest corporate lawsuit claims in Hong Kong, according to a court judgment on Wednesday.

Deputy High Court Judge Patrick Fung Pak-tung rejected the application by PwC International to be dismissed from the lawsuits involving claims by the liquidators of China Evergrande Group.

In his ruling, the judge said PwC International “did owe a duty of care” to China Evergrande Group, as the liquidators’ lawyers had pointed out that PwC International had the power to control and govern its member firms. As such, it should not strike out the international firms from the lawsuit without a trial, the judge said.

“There are factual matters in dispute which should be explored by cross-examination at trial,” he said.

The ruling means that PwC International, alongside PwC Hong Kong and PwC China, would need to jointly face the lawsuits filed by the liquidators of China Evergrande Group.

The liquidators are seeking approximately 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion) in total from PwC Hong Kong and PwC Zhong Tian, of which approximately 38.1 billion yuan is also claimed against PwC International, the judgment paper said.

Evergrande’s liquidators, Tiffany Wong and Eddie Middleton of Alvarez & Marsal, filed the lawsuits against the trio in early 2025, but PwC International later tried to strike itself out of the claim.

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