Nine KPMG execs forced to leave over Gupta saga

NINE senior executives from the auditing firm KPMG have been forced to resign in a fall-out over the company’s involvement with the controversial Gupta family.

The nine include the firm’s chief executive officer‚ Trevor Hoole‚ and chief operating officer and country risk manager‚ Steven Louw. The others are:

KPMG SA board chairman Ahmed Jaffer;

Audit and board member Mike Oddy;

Head of tax and board member Muhammad Saloojee;

Former head of forensic and board member Herman de Beer;

Head of deal advisory Johan Geel; and

Risk management partner for deal advisory Mickey Bove.

KPMG South Africa is also pursing disciplinary action and seeking the dismissal of Jacques Wessels‚ the lead partner on the audits of the nonlisted Gupta entities.

But KPMG has insisted it was not involved in any criminal activities.

“We were only the doers‚” KPMG SA interim chief operating officer Andrew Cranston told reporters in Johannesburg yesterday.

The announcement was made as KPMG concluded its international investigation into the company’s handling of all its Gupta-linked accounts.

KPMG is one of four international firms which have launched major investigations into their work with the Guptas.

The others include consultancy firm McKinsey, business systems company SAP, and disgraced UK public relations firm Bell Pottinger.

Cranston said the company would pay all the money which it had made from the Guptas to civic organisations and causes in South Africa.

He said they would explain shortly how the money would be paid over to society. — DDC