Sanctions against King & King and Mr Milankumar Patel
News types: Investigations
Published: 23 June 2026
This Press Notice concerns the outcome of an investigation into the relevant Statutory Audit Firm and Statutory Auditor. It does not make findings against any persons other than the relevant Statutory Audit Firm and Statutory Auditor* and it would not be fair to treat any part of this Press Notice as constituting or evidencing findings against any other persons or entities since they are not parties to the proceedings.
The Executive Counsel of the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) has issued a Final Decision Notice under the Audit Enforcement Procedure and imposed sanctions on King & King and Milankumar Patel (“Mr Patel”) in relation to the statutory audits of:
- The financial statements of Liberty Specialty Steels Ltd (“Speciality”) for the year ending 31 March 2019 (“FY19”);
- The financial statements of Alvance British Aluminium Ltd (“Alvance”) for FY19;
- The financial statements of Liberty Steel Newport Ltd (“Newport”) for FY19; and
- The financial statements of Liberty Performance Steels Ltd (“Liberty Performance”) for the year ending 31 March 2020 (“FY20”), collectively “the Audits”.
Between 2018 and 2020 King & King was appointed to perform over 140 audits of companies that were part of the GFG Alliance. In each case, Mr Patel was the engagement partner and signed the audit reports on behalf of King & King.
In its 2020 financial year King & King recognised over 30% of its total firm income from GFG Alliance entities in FY21 and this increased to over 40% in 2021.
The sanctions include:
King & King:
- A financial penalty of £70,000, discounted for admissions and early disposal by 25% so that the amount payable is £52,000.
- A published statement in the form of a Severe Reprimand;
- A declaration that the Audits did not satisfy the Relevant Requirements;
- Orders that King & King:
- shall not seek to obtain registration on the PIE Audit Register for a period of five years;
- shall not accept any new appointment as auditor to any private company which meets the definition of a “high turnover company”1 for a period of two years;
- shall implement firm wide training on ethical compliance; and
- shall submit to an audit monitoring review to be carried out by the ICAEW.
Milankumar Patel:
- A financial penalty comprising £288,684 in respect of disgorgement2 of the financial benefit Mr Patel derived as a result of the breaches; and an additional £50,000 by way of penalty. The latter amount is discounted for early settlement by 25% to £37,500, such that the total financial sanction will be £326,184.
- A published statement in the form of a Severe Reprimand;
- A declaration that the FY19 Audit reports for Speciality, Alvance, and Newport, and the FY20 Audit report for Liberty Performance did not satisfy the Relevant Requirements;
- An order that Mr Patel’s status as Responsible Individual be withdrawn and that:
- he shall not perform any Statutory Audit work or exert or seek to exert any influence upon any individual performing Statutory Audit work for a period of three years; and
- he shall not apply for Responsible Individual status until the expiry of a further two years.
The Gupta Family Group Alliance (“GFG Alliance”) is an unconsolidated group of companies, under common ownership, and operating in a number of industries, including the manufacture and trading of steel and aluminium, and renewable energy. The Respondents failed to identify clear self interest threats arising from their reliance on revenue from GFG Alliance entities, compromising their independence and objectivity as auditors. This led Mr Patel and King & King to take a flawed and artificial approach to the Ethical Standards, resulting in pervasive breaches across all audits. They also failed to meet key audit requirements, including planning and risk assessment, income and expense recognition, going concern, and financial statement disclosures.
* Capitalised and italicised terms in this press notice refer to terms defined in the FRC’s Audit Enforcement Procedure
“It is paramount that statutory audits are performed with objectivity, independence and free from self-interest. The failures by Mr Patel and King and King to meet these requirements were particularly egregious.
The widespread deficiencies across all the audits were a symptom of King & King’s and Mr Patel’s fee dependency on the GFG entities. The serious but commensurate sanctions, which include disgorgement of fees and prohibitions on Mr Patel performing future audits, send a clear message to the audit community that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”