Daily Express

Ferrexpo probe finds charity funds ‘discrepanc­ies’

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MINER Ferrexpo admitted funds it donated to a charity may have been misappropr­iated, but none of its directors or employees were implicated.

The FTSE 250 firm, controlled by Ukrainian mogul Kostyantin Zhevago, set up an independen­t committee earlier this year to review the use of funds donated to the Blooming Land charity after “discrepanc­ies” were found.

Ferrexpo, one of the world’s biggest producers of iron ore pellets for the steel industry, donated $110million over six years to the charity, which ran health events and programmes focused on diabetes throughout Ukraine.

In April, auditor, Deloitte, resigned after the company initially decided against holding an investigat­ion. Deloitte had warned last year that it expected an independen­t forensic review if Blooming Land did not provide requested evidence about the funds. Ferrexpo, which has terminated its relationsh­ip with the charity, may now seek to recover donations and the $6.4million costs of carrying out the probe.

It said: “It has not been possible to explain a number of discrepanc­ies outlined in the 2018 annual report relating to the charity and its use of funds donated by Ferrexpo.”

Ferrexpo shares rose 3p to 202p.

 ??  ?? QUARRY: Mining for ore
QUARRY: Mining for ore

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