In a detailed response on Wednesday, Eurofins Scientific once again refuted Muddy Waters' allegations of financial wrongdoing, stressing that it had never spoken to the short-seller about his claims.

Muddy Waters said earlier in June that Eurofins' account statements could be overstated and that the group had "a parasitic controlling shareholder who has been siphoning money from the company for two decades", causing a sharp fall in the group's share price on the Paris stock exchange.

The scientific laboratory group, which has published documents to support its arguments on its website, reiterated in a new statement that all the allegations and insinuations contained in the Muddy Waters report were "either inaccurate, irrelevant, biased and/or misleading".

Eurofins had already denied the fund's allegations last week, saying it would provide a more detailed response "in due course".

Muddy Waters "understands nothing about Eurofins' business", Eurofins said, with the group adding that it was considering commissioning a "reputable international accounting firm" to carry out an additional independent audit of its treasury, "even if this is not necessary".

The company also stated that no member of its executive board received informal compensation.

"Eurofins continues to access archives concerning the older facts cited with errors by MW and will consider formulating additional documented rebuttals at a later stage," the group added.

Founded in 1987 by current CEO Gilles Martin, Eurofins provides laboratory testing services for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics.

(Written by Diana Mandiá and Pauline Foret, edited by Augustin Turpin)