AOB suspends Chengco, sanctions five auditors
PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission's (SC) Audit Oversight Board (AOB) has suspended the registration of audit firm Chengco PLT (CCO) for two years due to serious audit quality issues.
In a statement, the SC said it had also imposed sanctions against five of CCO's audit partners who were the engagement partners and engagement quality control reviewers (ECQR) of three public interest entities (PIEs).
This entailed the suspension of Hong Thuan Boon and Yap Peng Boon for two years. Further, Tan Wae Leng, Kong Tung Sam and Ng Kee Siang were also prohibited from accepting as clients and auditing any PIEs or scheduled funds for one year.
'The sanctions followed the AOB's findings of multiple breaches in relation to CCO's failure to comply with the relevant requirements of the International Standards on Auditing as adopted by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants when auditing the three PIEs,' the SC said.
The SC added the findings were in fundamental and key audit areas.
These include failures to obtain sufficient audit evidence in areas such as bank borrowings, opening balances and prior year adjustments, use of going concern assumption, other payables and accruals, revenue, cost of sales, redeemable convertible preference shares and goodwill.
Also, recurring audit deficiencies were found in the areas of property development costs and fixed deposits.
'In addition, the EQCR failed to sufficiently review key audit documentation, particularly those relating to significant judgements and risk areas. This had an adverse effect on overall audit quality,' the SC said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Ex-investment banker jailed 2 years, fined RM1m for securities fraud
KUALA LUMPUR: A former investment banker was sentenced to two years in jail and fined RM1 million by the Sessions Court today for securities fraud offences involving RM201,000. Judge Norma Ismail delivered the sentence to Ruwan Amaresh Shaun Ponniah, 36, who previously worked as an associate director of Debt Capital Markets at a local investment bank. He pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA). The court also ordered him to serve an additional six months in prison if he fails to pay the fine. His jail term will be backdated to his arrest date on Sept 18 last year. The Securities Commission (SC) stated that the court considered nine other similar charges under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). 'Ruwan Amaresh falsely represented to seven investors that their money would be invested in shares listed on Malaysian and foreign stock exchanges. Instead, he used the funds for other purposes without their knowledge,' the SC said. Additionally, he received another two-year jail term after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 58(1) of the CMSA for operating an unlicensed fund management business. This sentence will run concurrently with the first. Ruwan Amaresh's guilty plea followed his application for a plea bargain under Section 172C of the CPC. 'He was first arrested and charged by the SC in Sept 2024, initially claiming trial to all charges. Bail was set at RM210,000 with one surety. 'On Feb 5, 2025, his bail was reduced to RM105,000 after a High Court application, but he failed to post bail and remains in Sungai Buloh prison,' the SC added.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Ex-investment banker jailed, fined RM1mil for securities fraud
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today sentenced a former investment banker to two years' jail and a RM1mil fine, or six months' jail in default, for securities fraud involving RM201,000. In a statement, the Securities Commission (SC) said Ruwan Amaresh Shaun Ponniah, a former associate director at CIMB Investment Bank, was sentenced by Sessions Court judge Norma Ismail after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. The court also took into consideration nine other similar charges under section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). Ruwan had falsely represented to seven investors that he would invest their monies in shares listed on the Malaysian and foreign stock exchanges. The monies were instead utilised for other purposes without the investors' knowledge. Ruwan also pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 58(1) of the CMSA for unlawfully holding himself out as a licensed fund manager. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment and ordered for the jail term to run concurrently with the first offence. Fund management is a regulated activity under Schedule 2 of the CMSA. The offences took place between October 2018 and June 2020. Ruwan's plea was made in pursuant to his application for a plea bargain under section 172C of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). He was first arrested and charged by the SC on Sept 18, 2024. He claimed trial to all the charges and was granted bail at RM210,000 with one surety. On Feb 5, 2025, the High Court reduced Ruwan's bail to RM105,000 following his application. However, he failed to post bail and has been held at Sungai Buloh Prison since. The court ordered his jail term to begin from the date of his arrest. The SC reminds the public to remain vigilant and to confirm the legitimacy of any investment offers by using the Investment Checker, available at on its official website.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- New Straits Times
Ex-banker jailed two years, fined RM1mil for securities fraud
KUALA LUMPUR: A former investment banker has been sentenced by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to two years' imprisonment and fined RM1 million, or a further six months in jail if he fails to pay, for committing securities fraud involving RM201,000. Ruwan Amaresh Shaun Ponniah, who previously served as an associate director of Debt Capital Markets at CIMB Investment Bank, pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Puan Norma Binti Ismail to one charge under Section 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA). In a statement, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said the court also took into account nine additional similar offences under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) for sentencing purposes. Investigations found that Ruwan deceived seven investors by claiming he would invest their money in shares listed on local and foreign stock exchanges but instead used the funds for other purposes without their knowledge. Ruwan also pleaded guilty to one charge under section 58(1) of the CMSA for holding himself out as carrying on a business in fund management without being licensed or a registered person for fund management. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment and ordered for the jail term to run concurrently with the first offence. Fund management is a regulated activity under Schedule 2 of the CMSA. The offences took place between October 2018 and June 2020. Ruwan's plea was made in pursuance to his application for a plea bargain under section 172C of the CPC. According to the statement, Ruwan was first arrested and charged by the SC on Sept 2024. He claimed trial to all the charges and was granted bail at RM210,000 with one surety. On Feb 5, 2025, upon Ruwan's application to the High Court for a reduction of the bail sum, the amount was reduced to RM105,000. However, Ruwan was unable to post bail and was remanded at the Sungai Buloh prison to date. The court ordered Ruwan's jail term to take effect from his date of arrest. The SC reminds the public to remain vigilant and to confirm the legitimacy of any investment offers.
