The chairman of accountancy and professional services firm KPMG, Jurgen van Breukelen, is stepping down following the launch of a criminal investigation into the firm for suspected tax fraud involving the building of its new headquarters.

The chairman of accountancy and professional services firm KPMG, Jurgen van Breukelen, is stepping down following the launch of a criminal investigation into the firm for suspected tax fraud involving the building of its new headquarters.

In a statement, van Breukelen said he was resigning as he was putting the interests of the company first.

“The change we are making at KPMG requires a clear signal that our company is breaking from the recent past of misjudgments and errors. It is then up to me as the person ultimately responsible to reinforce that signal,” said van Breukelen.

Last month, a formal investigation was launched by Dutch authorities for suspected tax fraud into a joint venture with a building firm involved in the construction of KPMG's new Amstelveen headquarters.

The public prosecution office said in a statement in April that the investigation was focusing on fake bills supplied by the building firm to boost costs with the aim of reducing KPMG's tax bill.

Prosecutors said that they had searched a number of sites as part of the investigation and also interviewed two unnamed directors of the company.