Australia’s largest superannuation fund has mentioned it won’t signal any new contracts with PwC because the consulting agency grapples with the fallout from a tax scandal in one among its largest markets.

AustralianSuper, which has virtually 3mn members and A$290bn ($191bn) of belongings below administration, mentioned on Friday that it will freeze any new work with the Huge 4 agency and evaluation an audit contract later this 12 months.

“AustralianSuper is worried with the continuing revelations round PwC and in consequence has frozen any new contracts with PwC,” mentioned a spokesperson for the fund. AustralianSuper had expressed these issues “on the highest stage” to PwC final week, he added.

PwC has been below intense public scrutiny over the previous month after the discharge of emails exhibiting it had used confidential details about adjustments to tax legal guidelines from the federal government to win new enterprise.

It suspended 9 companions this week pending the end result of an investigation in September because it moved to ease the affect of a scandal that has engulfed its Australian and worldwide operations.

An rising variety of corporations in Australia, one among PwC’s largest markets, are reviewing their relationship with the advisor following the confidentiality breach.

AustralianSuper is the most recent organisation to place restrictions on PwC following the scandal. The Reserve Financial institution of Australia mentioned on Wednesday it will not give new enterprise to the agency pending the end result of the evaluation. Treasury officers have additionally mentioned the moral behaviour of consultants would now have to be taken under consideration when procuring new contracts.

AustralianSuper, which is partly owned by the Australian Council of Commerce Unions, mentioned it spent greater than A$2mn with PwC final 12 months. The freeze was first reported by Bloomberg.

PwC’s administration will seem in entrance of the senate in Canberra subsequent week to reply questions over the scandal. The agency is predicted to return below extra strain to launch the names of the companions concerned in the usage of the confidential info and any purchasers that benefited from the tax recommendation.

The federal government, which has referred the matter to the police to think about felony motion, has mentioned the onus is on PwC to persuade it that the corporate’s inside evaluation and the resignation of any companions concerned within the scandal are ample redress for it to renew working with the general public sector.