The firm only avoided a larger fine, before discounts for mitigation and cooperation with the investigation were taken into account, in the UK after having to pay a £650,000 penalty to the US regulator in August 2023 for its audit misconduct on the US element of the audit where the firm had given Akazoo Limited a clean bill of health when in fact the company’s earnings were based on fake documents and letters.  

Now it is the turn of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to issue a damning 64-page report on Crowe’s audit work after a three-year investigation.

The FRC has fined Crowe UK LLP and partner Nigel Bostock, who is the current CEO of Crowe. Bostock was the lead engagement audit partner responsible for the audits at the time of the failures and misconduct related to the statutory audit of the financial statements of Akazoo. This will hit the 13th largest firm in the UK and represents a hit on its annual revenues of £164m.