Aurobindo Pharma shares plunged over 9% to hit a 52-week low of Rs 490.35 on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade following reports of the arrest of its director Sarath Reddy under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED has arrested Sarath Reddy and Benoy Babu of Pernod Ricard in connection with the liquor trade in the money laundering investigation being conducted by it into the now-scrapped Delhi Excise policy case.

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The company is in the process of ascertaining further details and will do further disclosures as appropriate, Aurobindo Pharma said in an exchange filing.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR that had named Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as an accused among others. The CBI had raised Sisodia and some Delhi government officials after filing the case.

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Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22 came under the scanner after the Delhi LG recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the scheme.

At 12:49 pm, the stock traded 8.92% lower at Rs 492.65 with a volume of around 1.62 lakh shares so far as against the two-week average traded volume of around 43,000 shares on the BSE. However, the BSE benchmark index, the Sensex was down 0.84% at 60,519.

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Aurobindo Pharma has underperformed in the market in the past year. In the last six months, the stock plunged 18%, as compared to an 11% surge in the S&P BSE Sensex. In the past year, it declined 29%, as against 0.36% growth in the benchmark index.

Recently, according to the latest Enforcement Report by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), New Jersey-based Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc recalled 9,504 bottles of Quinapril and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets.

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The affected batch of medicine, which is used to treat high blood pressure, has been manufactured in India and marketed in the US market by Aurobindo Pharma USA, according to the report.

In a separate statement, USFDA said AuroMedics Pharma LLC, a subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma, has recalled 11,520 units of Fondaparinux Sodium Injection in the US market. The medication, an anticoagulant, is used to treat deep vein thrombosis. The regulator said the company is recalling the affected units due to them being “Subpotent Drug: Out of specification for assay”.

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Aurobindo Pharma is an integrated global pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, India. The company’s board is scheduled to meet on Saturday, November 12, 2022, to announce earnings for the September quarter.