Passport-maker De La Rue under investigation by fraud squad over suspected corruption
Passport and banknote-maker De La Rue said today it is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over suspected corruption.
De La Rue told the stock market this afternoon that the SFO had opened an investigation into the company and its associated persons in relation to suspected corruption in South Sudan.
De La Rue’s shares plunged 12 per cent to 262p following the announcement.
The company’s general counsel Ed Peppiatt said: “Given the early stage of these matters, it is not possible to predict reliably what effect their outcome may have on De La Rue.”
The company said it intends to cooperate with the SFO investigation.
The Basingstoke-headquartered company was at the centre of a political scrap last year when it lost a tender to make the UK’s post-Brexit blue passports to Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto.