Sesa Sterlite shares falls more than 2% on CBI investigation

CBI started a probe into possible irregularities in Sesa's stake buy in Hindustan Zinc

Shares of Sesa Sterlite Ltd, controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, fell 2.3% on Tuesday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it started a probe into possible irregularities in its stake buy in Hindustan Zinc Ltd .

A Sterlite unit bought a 26% stake in Hindustan Zinc from the government in 2006. The unit now owns 64.92% in Hindustan Zinc, while the government has a 29.54% stake.

"We've launched a preliminary enquiry based on information from some source," said Kanchan Prasad, a spokeswoman for the CBI. "We'll look into documents to see whether there is any prima-facie evidence (of irregularities) or not, and then chargesheet them if needed."

 

Agarwal and some government officials were also part of the enquiry, Prasad said. Agarwal and Sesa Sterlite could not immediately be reached for comment.

London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc , owner of Sesa Sterlite, said in October it won the backing of its shareholders to offer up to $3.48 billion to buy the Indian government's minority stakes in Hindustan Zinc and Bharat Aluminium Co.