Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency (ASV) published an analytical report with a list of measures aimed at combating fictitious banking assets. The document is indicative of the agency’s determination to go beyond duplicating banking databases and toughening a criminal liability for falsifying financial data. In addition to these measures, the agency is proposing to introduce personal liability, and also criminal liability, for outside auditors that have certified invalid financial statements. Currently, an auditor may be subject to criminal proceedings only for their collusion with an unprincipled bank, which is very hard to prove. It will be much easier to prove that an auditor simply would not spot the signs of an imminent crisis at a particular bank, thereby misleading its creditors. Market players believe the agency’s initiative will lead to the shrinkage of the market for illegal auditing services, while the price of a legal audit will grow.
Source: WWW.KOMMERSANT.RU, September 27, 2007
