Shares in De La Rue fell sharply in London this morning after it emerged that the world's largest commercial banknote printer is being investigated by police over allegations of corruption.

On Friday, the City of London Police said that its new anti-corruption unit had launched raids on two company premises in Hampshire and one in Bedfordshire as part of a joint investigation with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

De La Rue said it believed that the allegations that sparked the investigation came from “a former employee against whom the company has obtained a judgment for the recovery of monies stolen from it.”

The group added: “We believe that a criminal investigation is under way into this theft.”

De La Rue said that it believed the allegations were false and it was confident that the matter would be resolved quickly.

In morning deals, the shares were down nearly 9 per cent, at 754p, valuing the group at just more than £1 billion.

De La Rue prints more than 150 national currencies as well as passports, travellers' checks, stamps and passports, through its security paper and print division.

The group also owns 20 per cent of Camelot Group, the consortium that operates the National Lottery.

The SFO investigates only complex and serious cases. The value of the alleged fraud must exceed £1 million or the case must be of widespread public concern for it to become involved.

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