FTSE 250 miner Ferrexpo appoints new auditor after Deloitte quit over charity probe
Ferrexpo has appointed a new auditor to check its books months after Deloitte quit over alleged wrongdoing.
MHA MacIntyre Hudson, which is part of Baker Tilly International, will not review the company’s half-year results, due on 2 August.
The appointment comes after Deloitte said it was unable to continue as Ferrexpo’s auditor in April.
The Big Four firm said it was concerned about the chief executive’s potential connections to a charity under investigation for its use of the company’s donations.
Ferrexpo has said that some of the funds paid to Blooming Land could have been misappropriated.
But the company’s board concluded that Kostyantin Zhevago, the billionaire chief executive and majority owner, did not control Blooming Land.
However, Deloitte said it was unable to reach this conclusion. It also claimed the board had delayed an investigation into Blooming Land’s behaviour.
The payments have been estimated at around $110m (£88m) since 2013.
The company’s shares have recovered since dropping nearly 30 per cent on Deloitte’s resignation. They rose a further 1.5 per cent today.
Read more: Ferrexpo delayed probe into charity partner, claims former auditor Deloitte
The board today said it “looks forward to working with MHA MacIntyre Hudson and Baker Tilly International, one of the top ten audit networks in the world, which has significant audit capability in Ukraine having operated there since 1999.”
Blooming Land coordinates Ferrexpo’s corporate social responsibility programme.