London-based auditors Crowe LLP have been hit with a $750,000 penalty over deficient audit work for music streaming company Akazoo Limited.

In a 14 August statement, which also fined chief executive Nigel Bostock and senior auditor Matthew Stallabrass, the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US said the firm issued a clean audit of Akazoo’s 2018 statements, but the business – which went public via a special purpose acquisition company – was later revealed to have falsely claimed in 2018 statements that it had $120m in revenue.