Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said India's securities market regulator ordered the drugmaker to conduct a financial audit.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India's order applies to financial statements for fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the company said in a statement. The audit is ongoing.
Mumbai-based Sun Pharma was responding to a request by the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange after Indian daily Business Standard reported a 4% decline in the company's shares following the audit order.
According to the newspaper's report, a whistleblower alleged that Sun Pharma, India's largest drugmaker, had irregularities and lapses in its corporate governance standards, prompting the audit. The whistleblower made a 150-page complaint to the securities regulator.
"[T]he company has always sought to comply with its regulatory obligations, including, making appropriate disclosures," Sun Pharma said in its Sept. 5 filing to the BSE and NSE.
