Kerala bars PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) from tech projects for 2 years

Mumbai: The Kerala government has barred PricewaterhouseCoopers from participating in any state government information technology projects for two years, saying the firm did not carry out proper background checks pertaining to “appointment of an unqualified individual” in a state government project.

PwC had appointed Swapna Suresh, accused in a gold smuggling case, as an operations manager at Space Park under Kerala State Information Technology Ltd. “We have seen the order and are evaluating the options available to us,” a PwC spokesperson said. “As the investigative agencies are seized of the overall matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further on it.”

According to the people in the know the state government had not issued any show-cause notice to the firm and had directly barred the firm. Central agencies are investigating Suresh for her alleged involvement in a smuggling case involving 30 kilograms of gold worth 14.82 crore.