The Indian multinational pharmaceutical company, Sun Pharma slipped 4 per cent to Rs 414.6 apiece on the BSE in the early morning trade on Friday. This comes after the drug-maker informed the exchanges about a forensic audit being undertaken by markets’ regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
According to a filing by the company, “A forensic audit has been ordered by SEBI w.r.t. the financial statements of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries for the financial years ending FY16, FY17, and FY18”.
The stock was trading 3.88 per cent lower at Rs 415.20 per share at 10:05 am, as against 0.34 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. Sun Pharma’s related company, SPARC (Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company), was also, trading 2.35 per cent lower at Rs 146.05.
The audit was ordered based on allegations made by a whistleblower in a 150-page complaint toSEBI, accusing Sun Pharma of committing corporate governance and tax-related offences and securities market-related violations, an early report by media states. The whistleblower had complained of a fund diversion of Rs 42,000 crore and of personal profits being made to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Pharma Outlook for the Week