14th Jan 2022 09:19
(Alliance News) - Petropavlovsk PLC announced on Friday that KPMG International Ltd has published a final report on its investigation into transactions between Petropavlovsk and IRC Ltd.
The London-based gold mining company with operations in Russia said that the report focused on a period of three years to August 2020.
Petropavlovsk said the report had identified a number of issues with historical transactions worth an estimated value of USD302.4 million.
These issues included potentially undisclosed related parties and conflicts of interest among the group's counterparties.
More specifically this involved - but was not limited to - apparent inflated costs of mining licences through pre-acquisitions and expenses paid by Petropavlovsk potentially for the benefit of entities related to senior management
Petropavlovsk said the report does not draw conclusion on specific wrongdoing but does establish "clear patterns of inappropriate behaviour" and points to "possible lapses in corporate governance and controls" during the period.
The company said it will continue to review KPMG's findings and will take any appropriate action available to it.
Chair James Cameron Jr said: "With the publication of this report, we hope to draw a line under the corporate governance lapses that, in the past, may have permitted individuals within the company to personally benefit from corporate transactions.
"As I stated following the release of the interim report in June, we have been working diligently over the course of this year to install new rules, policies and procedures and stricter controls while strengthening internal audit functions, improving transparency within the management structure, and instilling a culture of zero tolerance for improper business practices. We look to the future with confidence that the business practices described in the report cannot and will not be repeated."
Shares in Petropavlovsk were down 2.2% at 17.48 pence on Friday morning in London. The stock is down 45% over the past 12 months.
By Heather Rydings; [email protected]
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