Potash Board Exodus Sinks SQM as Chile Company Fights Probe

Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA shares fell the most in two decades as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. withdrew its board members after clashing with controller Julio Ponce over the handling of a tax probe.

SQM plunged as much as 29 percent in Santiago after Potash Corp.’s three directors, including its Chief Financial Officer Wayne Brownlee, resigned from SQM’s board late Tuesday. Their departure, announced by the Santiago-based company in a regulatory filing, follows SQM’s efforts to block an investigation by the public prosecutor’s office triggered by an alleged $15,000 political donation.