Ferrexpo hit by funds spat

SHARES in Ferrexpo shares plunged after its auditor Deloitte resigned over a spat about donations to a charitable foundation – and two non-executive directors also said they were quitting.

Around £449m was wiped off the value of the iron ore miner, with the stock down 28.4pc, or 76.3p, at 192.6p. Ferrexpo has been facing a scandal in Ukraine over alleged suspicious payments to a charity called Blooming Land, which it is claimed has links to the miner’s owner Kostyantin Zhevago.

Ferrexpo set up an independent committee to investigate the donations – and it cleared the firm of wrongdoing earlier this week. Deloitte has quit as auditor.

And directors Mary Reilly and Bert Nacken said they will step down at the AGM on June 7.