CHICAGO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A shareholder of

Archer-Daniels-Midland ( ADM ) is pressing the company's CEO to

resign for failing to clearly tell investors about problems with

its internal accounting practices that have sparked a criminal

investigation first reported by Reuters.

In a LinkedIn post entitled "Investor-misery has a name:

ADM," Hartwig Fuchs said ADM was the worst stock in his

portfolio this year and blamed ADM Chief Executive Juan Luciano.

Fuchs was the board chairman of German trading firm Alfred

C. Toepfer International when ADM owned a majority stake in the

firm. Fuchs left Toepfer in 2009 and Chicago-based ADM acquired

it in 2014.

"A German proverb says: The fish always stinks from the

head," Fuchs wrote in his column, dated Sunday.

ADM could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday

afternoon.

ADM was forced to amend years of financial reporting in

March and November after discovering sales between its nutrition

business and other core units were not recorded properly. The

company cut its 2024 profit outlook last month, citing policy

uncertainty, slow demand and "internal operational challenges."

Federal prosecutors in recent months have expanded their

inquiries into whether ADM or its employees committed crimes

including securities fraud and conspiracy, according to

subpoenas reviewed by Reuters and people familiar with the

probe. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in

Manhattan on Monday declined to comment on the investigation.

ADM's stock price is down nearly 30% from a year ago, and

ADM's shareholders, including Fuchs, are asking questions and

pointing fingers as to who is to blame.

"If a highly paid CEO of such an important company cannot

manage to provide clarity within a few months - i.e. fully clear

up the scandal, comunicate (sic) with full Transparency about

what went wrong and what will be done in the future, regain

investors trust and, above all, protect the company from

long-term damage - then he has to go," Fuchs wrote in his post.

ADM is facing other headwinds including low crop prices,

uncertainty around biofuels regulations and a possible tariff

battle between the United States and China that could upend

global trade flows as soon as January, after President-elect

Donald Trump takes office.