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Finance

Auditor of GFG Alliance's Liberty Commodities fined in UK

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on October 27, 2026

2 min read

· Last updated: October 27, 2026

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UK Watchdog Fines Liberty Commodities Auditor £140,000 Over GFG Audit Failings

FRC Sanctions and Audit Failures Related to GFG Alliance

Details of the Fines and Reprimands

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Britain's auditing watchdog has fined an accounting firm and an accountant for failing to show enough professional scepticism when auditing Liberty Commodities Ltd (LCL), in its latest penalty related to metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance.

HW Fisher's Penalty

• Auditor HW Fisher has been fined £140,000 ($186,500) and handed a "severe reprimand" for the LCL audit to March 31, 2020, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said on Tuesday

Simon Mott-Cowan's Penalty

• Simon Mott-Cowan, who voluntarily ceased his audit practice at the end of 2025, has been fined £17,500 and issued with a "severe reprimand" over the same audit

Responses and Cooperation

• HW Fisher and Mott-Cowan did not immediately respond to requests for comment

• Fines were reduced by 30% after cooperation

Background on Liberty Commodities and Audit Breaches

About Liberty Commodities Ltd

• LCL dealt with physical trading, supply chain and logistics management of non-ferrous metals, semi-finished steel and raw materials required for steelmaking

Nature of Audit Breaches

• Audit breaches were numerous and serious but not intentional, dishonest, deliberate or reckless, the FRC said. It did not say financial statements were misstated

Wider Context: GFG Alliance and Regulatory Actions

Other FRC Sanctions

• The FRC has sanctioned a number of accountants in Britain over audits of companies in the GFG Alliance

GFG Alliance and Greensill Capital Collapse

• Gupta was once dubbed the "saviour of steel." But the failure in March 2021 of GFG's main lender, Greensill Capital, prompted a scramble to refinance. The UK Serious Fraud Office opened a fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering investigation into GFG two months later

GFG's Response

• GFG has denied wrongdoing and said last year that it had struck a deal with Greensill creditors on global debt settlement terms

Additional Information

($1 = 0.7505 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Xevi Fontdegloria)

Key Takeaways

  • HW Fisher and Simon Mott‑Cowan sanctioned for audit deficiencies in Liberty Commodities audit but no evidence of intentional misstatement in financials
  • Sanctions follow a broader pattern of FRC enforcement against GFG‑linked audits, including earlier sanctions of King & King and PwC for independence and scepticism failures (live.euronext.com)
  • The FRC investigation into Liberty Commodities began in February 2022, culminating in the October 2026 fines following cooperation and reduced penalties (frc.org.uk)

References

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was HW Fisher fined by the Financial Reporting Council?
HW Fisher was fined for failing to show sufficient professional scepticism during its audit of Liberty Commodities Ltd for the year ending March 31, 2020.
Who else was penalized in the Liberty Commodities audit case?
Simon Mott-Cowan, the accountant responsible, was fined £17,500 and issued with a severe reprimand for the same audit.
Were the audit failings found to be intentional or reckless?
The Financial Reporting Council stated the breaches were numerous and serious but not intentional, dishonest, deliberate, or reckless.
Did HW Fisher or Simon Mott-Cowan comment on the penalties?
Neither HW Fisher nor Simon Mott-Cowan immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the penalties.
What triggered increased scrutiny of GFG Alliance's audits?
The collapse of Greensill Capital, GFG's main lender, led to financial investigations and increased scrutiny of GFG Alliance's audits by UK authorities.

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