Sebi says Austral Coke in Rs 1000 cr a/c scam

On a day when Austral Coke & Projects said it has acquired 50% stake in Osho Gremach Mining Limitada in Mozambique, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has found the company involved in a Rs 1,000 crore accounting scam.

The manufacturer of low-ash metallurgical coke manipulated books by showing fraudulent purchases and sales to 29 companies associated with Kolkata-based Ajit Kumar Jindal, the capital markets regulator said on Tuesday.

The scam was unearthed in Ahmedabad by the Income Tax Department following searches conducted on June 23, 2009.

The taxmen found bogus purchases of Rs 553 crore and sales of around Rs 495 crore. Jindal has admitted they were sham transactions.  

The company raised Rs 142.3 crore through a public issue in August 2008 and was planning a meeting to get shareholder approval for an additional fund raising of $200 million through a qualified institutional placement.

The book-running lead managers and investment bankers for the Austral Coke public issue were Allbank Finance Ltd Co, PL Capital Markets Pvt Ltd, Saffron Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd and Elara Capital (India) Pvt Ltd.

Nearly 75% of the shares of the company are locked-in. Austral Coke’s wholly owned subsidiary, Company Global Astra PTE, has acquired stake in the Mozambique entity engaged in the coal mining business, Austral Coke to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company has not disclosed the financial details of the transaction.Shares of Austral Coke & Projects were trading at Rs 52 on the BSE, up 0.97% from previous close.