UPL denies malicious reports against company; stock reacts positively

United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) has denied news relating to the forensic audit initiation by SEBI in respect to the whistleblower complaint raised against the company.

UPL has also insisted that SEBI must look into this matter as it noticed similar malicious reporting earlier also. On December 10, the shares of UPL had tumbled soon after the reports of a whistleblower circulated that the company’s promoters have siphoned off money.

The whistleblower had alleged that UPL entered into deals with a shell company owned by its employees and there was a flow of crores of rupees in the form of rent to the employees, who held the properties, which were previously held by the promoters.

The whistleblowing complaint also alleged that UPL has corporate governance issues regarding the transactions done by the UPL promoters. A similar complaint was lodged in 2017 but the matter was addressed to the audit committee to investigate the allegation and the contents of the complaint were also appropriately disclosed to the audit committee. The audit committee had taken an independent investigation and reported two & a half years back that the transactions that took place were at arm’s length price and in accordance with the applicable law.

UPL is a global leader in global food systems. It ranks fifth in the world in the list of agrochemical companies. It has its presence in over 130 countries with market access to 90 per cent of the world’s food basket and is focussed on achieving ushering growth in the agriculture value chain.

At 12.34 pm on Monday, the stock of UPL was trading at Rs 442.10, up by 1.68 per cent. The price is close to its intraday high of Rs 443.90, whereas its intraday low is Rs 432.50 on BSE.