(Yicai Global) July 8 -- Scandal-hit Kangde Xin Composite Material Group, once known as China’s 3M, has had its suspension from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange extended as the firm’s auditors have been unable to verify its accounts for the past two years, the bourse said yesterday.

Gongzheng Tianye Certified Public Accountants filed a Disclaimer of Opinion again this year, indicating that the accusations that the chemical firm cooked its books from 2015 to 2018 are far from being resolved.

Trading was first halted on July 8 last year when the Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province-based company came under investigation for allegedly faking its profit reports for four consecutive years. While Kangde Xin’s books showed healthy cash deposits of CNY11.5 billion (USD1.6 billion), the firm’s bank account was in fact empty.

Its accountant at the time, Ruihua Certified Public Accountants, was hauled over the coals by the country’s securities watchdog and the firm’s controller and former chairman Zhong Yu was apprehended by the police.

Kangde Xin’s board of directors will take measures to restore its listing, further cement its main business, increase income, reduce expenditure and resolve the debt crisis, the company responded.

The firm, which listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010, had 133,141 shareholders as of the end of the first quarter. Its stock was worth CNY3.52 (USD0.50) apiece when trading was halted, far below its previous high of CNY68.10 (USD9.70), and the company had a market value of CNY12.5 billion (USD1.8 billion).

Editor: Kim Taylor