Gupta auditor’s Irba hearing to start

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors’ (Irba) disciplinary committee will hold a sanction hearing for a former KPMG partner who audited the controversial Gupta family’s accounts. Irba’s disciplinary committee has reached a decision on Jacques Wessels, but it has not been made public.

The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba) disciplinary committee will hold a sanction hearing for a former KPMG partner who audited the controversial Gupta family’s accounts.

Irba’s disciplinary committee has reached a decision on Jacques Wessels but it has not been made public.

The former KPMG partner was informed of the committee’s decision last year.

Wessels, who was the lead partner for nonlisted Gupta entities, is alleged to have ensured that Linkway Trading dodged paying the SA Revenue Service just more than R2m.

He resigned from KPMG before the company could take its own disciplinary action against him.

Wessels faced the Irba disciplinary committee in December when he admitted to being negligent during the audit of Linkway, passing off costs for the family’s lavish Sun City wedding event as a business expense.

Wessels admitted to being negligent during the audit of the Gupta company, but he denied that he had been dishonest or had helped the family evade taxes.

STATE CAPTURE

KPMG found itself embroiled in allegations of state capture after a tranche of Gupta e-mails were leaked to the media.

Several senior executives resigned from KPMG in the wake of the scandal.

Irba said that Wessels would be given an opportunity to address the disciplinary committee in mitigation of sanction at the hearing.

The committee has set aside three days to hear mitigation from February 14.

HE ADMITTED TO BEING NEGLIGENT, PASSING OFF COSTS FOR THE FAMILY’S LAVISH SUN CITY WEDDING EVENT AS A BUSINESS EXPENSE