SHARES in a North-East passport and bank note manufacturer dived yesterday after it said the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has opened an investigation into "suspected corruption" related to business in South Sudan.

De La Rue, which has a plant in Gateshead, saw shares dive 12 per cent after it informed investors about the investigation.

In a short update to shareholders, De La Rue said: "The UK Serious Fraud Office has informed De La Rue that it has opened an investigation into the De La Rue group and its associated persons in relation to suspected corruption in the conduct of business in South Sudan.

"Given the early stage of these matters, it is not possible to predict reliably what effect their outcome may have on De La Rue."

It said that it intends to co-operate with the SFO in relation to the investigation and said it will provide a further update when appropriate.

De La Rue has worked in South Sudan since first designing and manufacturing a new currency for the country's creation in 2011.

The Basingstoke-based printer has already had a turbulent month, after it blamed the Government’s decision last year to give the post-Brexit passport printing contract to a French company for the potential loss of 170 jobs in Gateshead.

Trade union Unite said the announcement that the company has begun consultation on the future of 170 skilled printing jobs working on the foreign currency contracts came on top of the 100 passport printing jobs due to go in the autumn.

It added the Government’s "short-sighted and blinkered decision" had "seriously undermined" the financial viability of the Gateshead operation.

If the redundancies go ahead, there will still be 200 workers doing currency printing at Gateshead.

A De La Rue spokesperson said at the time: “As the world’s largest commercial banknote printer we regularly review our operational footprint to ensure it meets demand. We are in the final stages of a restructuring programme to ensure we continue to be competitive."

Shareholders are due to vote on the future of chairman Philip Rogerson, as well as executive pay, at the company's annual general meeting tomorrow.

The company is also in the midst of a leadership reshuffle after chief executive Martin Sutherland announced in May that he would quit the firm following a string of profit warnings.

Last week, the firm hit out at Crystal Amber, its third-biggest investor, and described its threats against the chairman as "precipitous and destabilising".