SHARES of Olam Group : VC2 0% dived on Wednesday (Sep 13) morning after the group confirmed a media report that its Nigerian unit posted a bond for its director, Prakash Kanth.

As at 10.11 am, the counter had sunk as much as S$0.11 (*see amendment note) or 9.6 per cent to S$1.04 amid heavy trading volumes. This was its lowest share price since its return to the Singapore Exchange as Olam Group on Mar 16, 2022, following its last day of trading as Olam International after its restructuring.

It recovered slightly to S$1.07 by 1.32 pm, representing a 7 per cent decline or S$0.08, after 11.4 million shares changed hands.

No married deals took place in early trade, ShareInvestor data showed.

The counter was down 4.3 per cent at S$1.10 – a 52-week low – at market close.

Prior to the market open, the group said its subsidiary Olam Nigeria posted a bond for Kanth to “secure (his) continued cooperation… with any legitimate requests from relevant Nigerian authorities for information or assistance”.

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The commodity trading giant’s statement follows a Sep 11 report in Daily Nigerian, which reported that Olam Nigeria paid a “humongous” bail bond of one billion nairas (S$1.9 million) to secure Kanth’s release from remand by the country’s State Security Service (SSS). 

Daily Nigerian said a payment slip it saw showed the money was paid into a special recovery account operated by SSS. It added that the payment was made by Olam subsidiary Micro Feed Nigeria, in connection with an ongoing investigation of money laundering involving Kanth.

Kanth, who is director of corporate affairs and legal at Olam Nigeria, was reported by the newspaper to have spent days in the SSS detention facility in Abuja.

While Olam’s announcement confirms that a bond was posted for him, the group did not mention the amount paid.

“The company continues to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities and will update our shareholders and the investing public on any material developments in accordance with the requirements of the SGX-ST listing rules,” it said.

The update comes after Olam on Sep 11 released a statement refuting allegations made through media reports – including an earlier report by Daily Nigerian – that the group and its subsidiaries were embroiled in alleged fraud involving over US$50 billion.

While Olam highlighted and addressed several statements which it described as inaccurate, baseless and inflammatory, the group’s board has ordered a review of the matter.

*Amendment note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that Olam shares were down as much as S$0.011 as at 10.11am, when it should have been S$0.11.