The shares of Australian miner Whitehaven Coal has recorded a fall of about 9 per cent following the release of a fake press statement that indicated that one of the company's lenders has decided with withdraw funds.

The fake press release from an anti-coal action group said that ANZ bank has decided to withdraw A$ 1.2 billion or US$ 1.3 billion. The company was forced to suspend trading in the day following the fall in its share value due to the release as investors began selling their shares due to fears that the company might cancel plans for the proposed Maules Creek mine

The fake release said that ANZ had withdrawn funding for the proposed mine because of "reputational risks and analysis of the returns on this mine in the current climate of high volatility in the coal export market".

After the fake press release was identified and the situation was clarified to the investors, the shares recovered at the stock market. Following the identification, the ANZ bank issued a statement clarifying that it has not issued a statement regarding Whitehaven and added that it remains supportive of the company.