Banknote printer De La Rue says made aware of India probe
Reuters
Published Jan 20, 2023 03:55AM ET
Updated Jan 20, 2023 09:42AM ET
By Muhammed Husain
(Reuters) -Banknote printer De La Rue said on Friday it had been made aware of an investigation by Indian authorities into a former Indian finance secretary in which the historical activities of De La Rue in India prior to 2016 have been implicated.
De La Rue said in a statement it had not received any official communication about the investigation into Arvind Mayaram, the former Indian Finance Secretary, from the Central Bureau of Investigation in India, but had learned about it from publicly-available sources.
De La Rue said the allegations relating to the group had no merit and it was seeking legal advice, but declined to comment further.
The company's shares fell as much as 8% to a six-month low on Friday after the company's comments.
Indian media reports have said the CBI conducted searches at Mayaram's premises in New Delhi and Jaipur earlier this month.
The media reports, citing the CBI's first information report, said the CBI had filed a case against Mayaram on Jan. 10, over allegations he awarded a three-year contract extension in 2013 to De La Rue for supply of exclusive security thread for Indian banknotes without mandatory security clearance.
When asked for comment by Reuters, Mayaram said: "I’m confident CBI investigation will be fair and that in the end truth will triumph."
The CBI did not respond to a request for comment.
De La Rue also said it has suspended its note-printing operations in Kenya and it did not expect any new orders from the African country's central bank for the next 12 months due to low market demand.
However, its joint venture with the Kenyan government, through which its operations in the country are conducted, remain active, the company added.
"The company continues to explore further business opportunities, both in Kenya and for export from Kenya, with a view to restarting production if the economic climate permits," De La Rue said.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.