Elektra Cut From S&P’s Mexico Index After Halt on Alleged Fraud

(Bloomberg) -- Grupo Elektra SAB, controlled by billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, was removed from Mexico’s benchmark stock index after shares were halted for weeks, a suspension prompted by the company to interrupt an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud.

The removal adds to the woes for Salinas as he works to claw back 7.2 million shares he says he offered up for collateral in a loan and has been unable to recover. The billionaire has said he’s taking legal action because the lender rebuffed his attempts to pay the money back. The lender has said a Salinas company defaulted on $110 million in debt.

Shares of Elektra, a retail and banking conglomerate, stopped trading on Mexico’s stock exchange on July 26 after sinking as much as 10%, the biggest intraday drop since 2017. Elektra said then that it had learned of a possible fraud by depositories of its shares that could trigger unusual movements in the company’s stock price.

The lender, called Astor Asset Management, has denied wrongdoing.

Earlier Friday, Mexico’s banking regulator granted an extension of as much as 40 business days for Elektra shares to remain suspended.

The removal from the S&P/BMV IPC index — which tracks the largest stocks on the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores — would normally be expected to lead to a selloff of shares as funds that track the index adjust to the change. But the suspension of the shares will complicate that process.