The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Crowe, Bostock and Stallabrass neither admitted nor denied the charges, according to the SEC. A lawyer representing the three referred queries to a company representative who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the SEC, Crowe falsely claimed its staff were qualified to conduct an audit according to standards set by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and failed to exercise appropriate skepticism when presented with fabricated documents, among other failings. Crowe has agreed to withdraw its PCAOB registration while Bostock and Stallabrass have agreed to be suspended from appearing before the SEC as accountants for minimum periods of five and two years, respectively, the SEC said.

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Persons: Andrew Kelly, Crowe, Nigel Bostock, Matthew Stallabrass, Akazoo, Bostock, Stallabrass, Douglas Gillison, Paul Simao Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Crowe UK, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Public, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, British, London