De La Rue PLC (LON:DLAR) shares surged on Tuesday after the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) dropped an investigation into the firm almost a year after launching the probe.
The SFO launched its probe into the banknote printer last July in connection to its operations in South Sudan, where it has been responsible for designing and printing the country’s money.
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In a statement, the SFO said that following an extensive investigation it had concluded that the case “did not meet the relevant test for prosecution as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors”, which stipulates that evidence must support a realistic prospect of conviction and that the prosecution must be in the public interest.
The details of the allegations were also not disclosed by the SFO or De La Rue.
The end of the investigation marks a bright spot for the company, which has been struggling over the past year as falling profits pushed it to cut back on costs and restructure itself.
De La Rue shares were 9.2% higher at 159p in early trading.